The Exsphere Saga
by The Literator
Summary: Continuing the story of Tales of Symphonia, and Lloyd's quest to rid the world of Exspheres. Continues the story, therefore, there ARE spoilers.
1. Two Years Later

Chapter 1: Two years later...

**Lloyd woke up. **

For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. He recognized the ceiling of a room of the inn in Meltokio. Odd, they usually didn't stay here... He wondered where everybody was. The room seemed quiet.

Slowly, it came back to him. He _wasn't_ traveling with Colette, Genis, Raine, Zelos, Presea, or Regal.

It had been two years since the death of Mithos, the rejoining of the world, and the sprouting of Yggdrasill the Great Tree.

And he was in bed, in the Sancta Cassius in Meltokio, and that was Sheena snoring softly in the other bed.

He sat up, and sighed heavily.

Sheena turned over in her bed. After a moment, she woke up. _She almost always wakes up right after me_, Lloyd noted with a faint smile.

She sat up, and smiled at him, a bit sleepily. "G'morning."

Lloyd returned the smile, despite his melancholy mood. "Morning, Sheena."

Two years in his company had made Sheena sensitive to his moods. She raised an eyebrow. "You sound depressed."

He made a face. "I am—sorta."

She rolled out of her bed, and sat down on the edge of his. "Do you want to tell me?"

He took a moment to sort out his feelings. "When I woke up, just for a moment, I thought I was with everybody—you know, when we were traveling to reunite the worlds." Sighing, he slumped a bit.

"Why's that depressing you?" she asked.

"We got so much accomplished in so short a time. It wasn't even a year from the day we got the Oracle at Iselia to the two worlds being rejoined."

"And now," Sheena guessed, "two years later, you feel like you're not getting anything done on your quest, is that it?"

Lloyd smiled crookedly. "You know me too well."

Sheena nodded her agreement, but continued her thread of thought. "You've done a lot to rid the world of Exspheres. People still talk about how you got the Papal Knights to give them up, and you got the amusement park at the Altamira shut down. All you've really got left is the Tethe'alla Bridge."

"I don't think I'll _ever_ get those exspheres on the Bridge, though," Lloyd said morosely. "The King _says_ he's negotiating with me over it, but he calls me up there once a week, he says he can't shut down the Bridge at this time, and then he tells me to come back next week."

"We'll find a way. We always did before. If worse comes to worst, we'll have Genis level the bridge."

Lloyd brightened up at the idea. It was a joke, but it had a certain appeal...

"Yeah, we could do that." He paused. "Have you heard anything about them lately?"

She nodded. "Somebody at the Coliseum was talking about a half-elf boy with enormous power. They said he's been winning magic duels left and right."

"That's our Genis," Lloyd grinned. "I just hope his power doesn't go to his head."

Sheena scoffed. "Genis? Nah."

Lloyd became a bit more serious. "I'm not so sure, Sheena. Genis always acted a bit superior to me. We all know he's smarter than I am."

"He wouldn't...would he?" Sheena sounded a bit less sure of herself.

"With Genis, you never know."

"True, but I think Raine and Presea will keep him from getting too big a head." She changed the subject. "What are you going to do today?"

"I dunno. I don't have an appointment with the King, so I'm kinda open today."

"Do you want to help me down in the slums?"

"Sure." Lloyd agreed. Because some of her summoning vows were to help the suffering people of the world, Sheena took charity work very seriously. She'd made those vows, so she was going to keep them, come hell or high water. Lloyd knew it made her happy when he helped her with things like this, so he aided her crusade every chance he got.

**By mid-morning, Lloyd and Sheena had made a good attempt to alleviate the suffering in the slums.** They'd passed out old clothes, and cooked a big pot of stew, and then asked the slum residents to line up.

The smell here was awful, but Lloyd figured it to be a small price for the grateful tears in the eyes on the slum's residents.

After the last peasant had left, Lloyd and Sheena went back to the commercial quarter.

There was a messenger waiting at the inn.

"Mr. Irving, His Majesty requests your presence at the castle," the brightly-dressed nobleman told Lloyd formally.

Lloyd sighed. "What does he want?"

The courier sniffed. "I did not presume to ask his Majesty."

"Right..." Lloyd said shortly.

Sheena put an arm around his shoulders. "There's only one way to find out."

Lloyd smiled briefly. "Right." He looked at the messenger. "Tell his Majesty we're coming."

"I have been instructed to escort you, Mr. Irving."

**The double doors of the castle swung open.** The nobleman went in first. "Your Majesty, I present the Eternal Swordsman and Re-uniter of the world, Lloyd Irving, and the Successor of Mizuho, Rose of Battle, Sheena Fu..." he faltered slightly, then recovered admirably, "Sheena Fujibayashi."

At the other end of the audience chamber, the King stood up. "I will gladly receive our distinguished guests."

Lloyd came forward. He had been surprised at the introduction the first time it happened, but now, after hearing it once a week for the better part of a year, he'd gone numb to it.

He stood in front of the dais. "Your Majesty wished to see me?"

The King nodded. "Yes. Let's go to the Royal Library to talk in privacy."

Lloyd raised his eyebrows, but lessons from Regal and Zelos, and a lot of practice in the court of the King, had taught him not to act too surprised. The negotiations had always taken place in the Crimson Chamber before.

As was usual, the Minister and a detachment of guards came with them. When they reached the high, book-lined room of the library, the King looked at his entourage.

"I wish to talk with Lloyd in private. You have my permission to leave us," he said.

"Your Majesty!" the Minister looked shocked.

"Leave, Cerran."

The plump minister's eyes narrowed. "...Yes, your Majesty." He left with a great show of submission.

The King looked at the sergeant of the guards slyly. "I would esteem it a service if you would leave us and make sure he stays out of earshot."

The sergeant bowed. "Yes, sir." The guards left.

The King smiled as the door shut, and held up a finger.

After a moment, there was the sound of a minor scuffle. The King's smile was benign. "I love doing that to him."

"Why do you keep that greaseball around, your Majesty?" Lloyd demanded.

"Cerran? He _does_ have an oily quality to him, doesn't he? He's unprincipled and not above using his position for an acceptable amount of personal gain. However, he is a very efficient administrator, and I have seen evidence that he places the interests of Tethe'alla above his own, if it's him or the country."

The King settled into a chair with a slight groan. "I feel I owe you an apology, Lloyd."

Lloyd and Sheena sat down across the small table from him. "Why, your Majesty?" the swordsman said.

"I've been conspiring to keep you here at Meltokio."

Lloyd blinked. "Wha...?"

"A certain matter has been developing here in Tethe'alla," the king explained. "I would be grateful for your aid with it."

Sheena narrowed her eyes. "How grateful?"  
The king smiled. "I'll gladly make concessions on the Tethe'alla Bridge if you will do a small service for me."

Lloyd leaned forward eagerly. "What do you want me to do?"

"There is a group of brigands marauding around the other two continents. My soldiers can't defeat them—these bandits appear to use Exspheres."

Lloyd's expression went solid. The King smiled. "I'd hoped you'd feel this way. My soldiers can't subdue them since you've talked me into banning Exspheres for the military service. You're probably the preeminent swordsman in the world, and your companions hold a similar status. That's why I've asked Zelos to go with you."

Lloyd was very much surprised. When had the King become this cunning? He'd kept Lloyd around, just for this event, and knew exactly what would get Lloyd to agree, and even provided extra incentive. Evidently, a political adept had awoken in the past couple of years.

Lloyd was speechless, so Sheena answered for him. "We'll be happy to, you Majesty."

"You have my thanks," the King smiled.

On the way back to the inn, Sheena was aware of Lloyd's good mood. He was grinning at nothing and had a little jig in his step. When they got back to their room, he jumped into the air, crowed with delight, caught her up in a bear hug, and even kissed her on the cheek—something he almost never did, despite their stated feelings for each other.

She smiled to herself. This would be good for him.


	2. The Bone Man

Chapter 2: The Bone Man

**Sheena was enjoying herself.** She, Lloyd, and Zelos were camping in a field, some miles from Sybak.

A trip into the university town had proved profitable when a couple of students were heard talking about how Exsphere research might be reopened. A few questions revealed that someone was selling Exspheres.

Lloyd, of course, had gotten very angry. Sheena figured that was good for him. Lloyd didn't have a chance to brood when he was angry.

Now, a day later, they were preparing to go to bed. Sheena already lay in her bedroll, pretending to be asleep. She liked hearing Lloyd and Zelos's conversation when they thought she wasn't listening.

"I'm surprised you agreed to come," Lloyd was saying.

"Yeah, well, I don't have much to do since they disbanded the office of the Chosen," Zelos said easily. "I was getting bored."

"Riiiight. And the fact that the bandits are using Exspheres doesn't come into it at all?" Lloyd sounded amused.

"I can't fool you, can I?" Zelos said without the least trace of embarrassment.

Lloyd laughed. Sheena felt much better. This trip was easing his worries.

"It's good to have you with us, Zelos," Lloyd said, more seriously.

For once, Zelos dropped his usual act. "It's good to be doing this sort of thing again. I've missed being out on the road. And I've really missed being with the gang."

"Yeah." Lloyd was silent for a moment. "I'm turning in. Good night, Zelos."

"'Night, Lloyd."

Sheena smiled, and really settled in to sleep.

**The next morning, Lloyd woke up to find Sheena cooking breakfast and talking to Zelos.** Amazingly, she wasn't shouting.

He got out of his sleeping bag. "Good morning."

Zelos nodded. Sheena smiled. "Morning."

He sat down by the small fire. "Which way should we go today?"

Sheena flipped the bacon. "We should go north and through Gaoracchia Forest. They'd be preying along that road to Ozette."

"Sound good," Lloyd agreed.

After breakfast they broke camp and walked the couple of miles to Gaoracchia Forest.

"I've never liked this place," Lloyd said with a shudder, looking at the dark, twisted trees.

"I don't think _anyone_ likes it," Zelos said. "Most people avoid it."

Sheena shivered. "It's an evil place. I'm amazed I'm still alive."

Zelos looked at her oddly. "It's not _that_ dangerous."

"You don't understand. I'm not from Mizuho by birth—Chief Igaguri found me in this forest, not far from where Mizuho used to be."

"I didn't know that," Zelos admitted. "How'd you get there?"

"I don't know. I don't even know who my birth parents are."

Zelos nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

She looked at him. "Compassion? From you?" She demanded incredulously.

He smirked in that superior way of his. "It's just us out here. I don't have to be my usual self, now, do I?"

Lloyd laughed. "All right. Point taken. Let's just get through here."

As always, the forest was sunk into deep twilight. The humid air was cold and smelled of decay. They went through the twists and turns of the forest path. One thing screamed at them by its absence, however.

"There's no monsters," Sheena said. "Where are they?"

Zelos was indifferent. "I'm glad they're gone. Those ghouls always gave me the creeps."

"But I've been in here hundreds of times and there's _always_ been monsters. Something's wrong."

They walked along in the utter, utter silence for a while. Then they heard something.

Cautiously, they sidled along the twisting path.

Up ahead was one of the all-too-rare clearings where sunlight filtered through. Up ahead was a group of about twenty people. Some of them were in mismatched armor and carried well-used weapons, both of which marked them as mercenaries. Others had a caught look to them, and were chained together in a line.

They were all focusing on a man in the center of the clearing. He seemed to be talking, but the dead air muffled sound. Because they were in the sunlight, they couldn't see out into the much, much darker forest.

From their place in the relative darkness, the three watched. Lloyd could see one thing. The glint off of Exspheres, on the back of the hands of the mercenaries, and even on the hands of the prisoners, filled his mind with rage.

He gritted his teeth. "Get ready," he told the other two shortly. "Zelos, you hang back and use your healing powers. Help me or Sheena if we get into trouble." He drew his swords—the blades he had received from his fathers. Their dual glow lit up the ground in front of him.

The man in the center of the group was of medium height. His light armor was obviously custom-made, and twin sheaths hung at his sides, even as Lloyd's did. His close-cropped hair was white-blond. He almost immediately noticed the blue and red glows in the dark of the forest.

"Who is that? Come out here!"

Lloyd advanced with Sheena and Zelos flanking him. "My name is Lloyd Irving, and I've come to put a stop to _you_," he grated out.

The blond man's eyes widened. "Lloyd Irving? Oh, _no_." He began yelling orders. "Ribs! Get in front of us! Jan! Get the host bodies ready. We're leaving, now!"

The mercenaries withdrew, prodding the pitiful prisoners along, leaving their leader.

And something else, it turned out. Striding forward through the press of bodies, accompanied by a faint clicking, rattling sound, a walking skeleton came into the sunlight. The fleshless bones were brownish-yellow with age, and it wore no actual clothing—just a pair of beat-up pauldrons, a bandoleer with pouches of varying sizes hanging from it, and a sword belt. Its sword and shield were both dark metal, with various nicks and chips that come from a long time of hard use.

The leader smiled thinly. "Ribs, now's your chance to earn your keep. I've seen how you fight. Take care of these three for me." Something about his voice nagged at Lloyd. The young man put it out of his mind.

The skeleton nodded once, its empty sockets turned on Lloyd. It adjusted its grip on his shield, and assumed a stance. The leader nodded. "Hold them here as long as possible. Kill them if you can. I'll be going now." And he turned and ran down the path, wanting to catch up to his men.

The skeleton held its stance, motionless apart from its eyeless gaze moving between its three adversaries.

Lloyd realized it would let them make the first move—it didn't have to kill them, just delay them. "Back me up," he yelled, dashing at the undead thing. The warrior came to meet him.

Lloyd feinted one way, then dodged to the other, trying to sneak the point of Flamberge around the shield.

The bone man, however, sidestepped and turned, moving its shield to catch the flame blade. Its sword come around in a wicked sweep that Lloyd barely jumped out of the way of.

No sooner than his feet touched the ground than the undead fighter was right against him, bashing him in the chest with its flat, round shield.

While this was happening, Sheena pulled a magic lens out of her pocket, and activated it.

She immediately felt that this was a darkness creature and its reserves of strength were huge. She was reminded of the Hell Knight they had fought—or the final incarnation of the Sword Dancer.

The lens evaporated, its magic spent. "Lloyd! It's strong! Watch out!" She dashed, covered the distance to the battle.

Zelos was advancing more cautiously. This wasn't an ordinary undead. It was too strong. Also, it was too skilled. Lloyd had all he could do to keep from getting sliced by that wicked sword.

Then Sheena joined in, and the skeleton's tactics changed. It became more defensive. Whenever Lloyd or Sheena swung, the fleshless warrior, without much effort at all, usually wasn't in the way of the weapon. When it couldn't evade, it blocked. It even managed to get in a few counters.

Zelos, holding his great sword and his shield, glanced at the way the bandits had gone. "Lloyd!" he yelled over the occasional clang as the skeleton blocked or parried. "I'm going after them!"

"Right!" Lloyd yelled back.

Zelos turned, and began running down the twilight-lit path. He heard Lloyd and Sheena yell his name, and glanced over his shoulder. The skeleton had left Lloyd and Sheena and was running, right at him. Its sword was held purposefully.

Zelos stopped, turned on his heel, and slashed at the warrior. The long blue blade of the Last Fencer was met by the worn and chipped black blade of the warrior. The swords locked. Zelos pushed against the fleshless warrior, looking directly into empty eye sockets.

He wasn't quite sure what happened next. The skeletal warrior somehow slipped his sword out of the lock, and slid his blade under the crosspiece. With a sudden jerk, it yanked the long sword out of Zelos's hand, even as its thin leg snaked around behind his knee and pulled his leg out from under him.

In a trice, Zelos ended up on his back with no weapon, and found himself looking up the chipped and notched length of that black sword as the skeleton set the tip against his throat. Then it turned to look at Lloyd and Sheena, who were only a few yards away. It looked at them, then pointedly at the pinned ex-Chosen. It looked back at them, its skull canted to one side. The meaning was clear. _What will you do? _

Lloyd snarled. How was the thing so damn _good_?

"What do you want?" he demanded of it.

The skull tilted further. Its jaw opened, showing the emptiness inside. With its free hand, it pointed at its mouth, then curled its fingers over, fingers and thumb parallel, the tips moving up and down—the crude gesture for talking—and it shook its head.

Comprehension dawned on Lloyd. The thing didn't have a tongue or lips or whatever else needed to speak. It _couldn't_ speak.

"You can't talk, can you?" Sheena asked.

The pointed at her, then gave her a thumbs-up.

"What do you want?" Lloyd asked with less heat.

The skeleton pointed at its torso. Then at Lloyd. Then it made the "talking" sign again.

"You want to talk to me?"

A nod.

"Can you do that without the gestures?"

Nod.

"Let Zelos go, and we'll talk."

The skeleton glanced down at Zelos, then sheathed its battered sword. It stepped back and began digging in a pouch. It pulled out a piece of slate and a pencil. It wrote on the slate, then turned it around.

In a neat, elegantly legible print, were the words I WISH TO JOIN YOU.

"_What?_" Sheena stared.

The skeleton turned it around, wrote for a second, then showed it again. I WISH TO JOIN YOU. IT IS NECESSARY.

Zelos had gotten up and retrieved his sword. "What's it saying?"

"It wants to join us. It says it's necessary."

"I don't trust it," Zelos rubbed his throat at the memory of that light touch of cold, sharp metal. "It could stab us in the back."

Lloyd grimaced. "Zelos, I hate to admit it, but if it wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead. It was holding back in that fight."

Sheena was watching the skeleton. "You'd betray your group?"

The skeleton carefully erased the words from its slate and wrote anew. BETRAYAL IMPLIES THERE WAS ALLIANCE. I WAS NOT ALLIED WITH JOSEPH. I MERELY TRAVELED WITH HIM AND HIS GROUP.

"Why were you with him?"

THE HOSTS NEED PROTECTION. I AIDED THEM HOW I COULD. BUT NOW I MUST COME WITH YOU.

Lloyd smiled, remembering something. "I guess you can come with us. What's your name, and are you a man or woman?"

Sheena gasped. "Lloyd! He was with our enemies!"

Lloyd grinned. "So were you, and I'd say you turned out pretty well." He turned back to look at the skeleton's answer.

CALL ME RIBS. I AM MALE.


	3. First Encounter

Chapter 3: The Hunt

**They camped some miles outside the dark forest. **It was very late, and their pace had tired them—except for Ribs. Nevertheless, they were taking the time to talk.

"What do you know about the leader of the bandits?" Lloyd asked.

Ribs' pencil scritched across his slate. HIS NAME IS JOSEPH. HE TOLD ME HE WAS ONCE A DESIAN.

"Then he's a half-elf?" Sheena asked.

QUARTER-ELF, BY HIS GRANDMOTHER, HE SAID.

"What else should we know about him?"

HIS GROUP IS NOT A GROUP OF BANDITS. THEY ARE KIDNAPPERS. THEY STEAL PEOPLE SO THEY CAN GROW EXSPHERES IN THEM.

Lloyd started to talk, but Ribs held up a finger. He erased what he'd written, and wrote something else. He held it up for them to see in the firelight.

HE SERVED AS A CARDINAL UNDER A HALF-ELF NAMED MAGNIUS, WHO WAS A GRAND CARDINAL.

Lloyd had been taking a quick drink of water. He picked the wrong moment to glance at Ribs' slate. He sprayed a fine mist into the air, and coughed. Zelos and Sheena thumped him on the back until he recovered. "How did he survive? We destroyed the Palmacosta Ranch and killed Magnius!" Lloyd finally gasped.

JOSEPH SAID HE WAS NOT AT THE RANCH WHEN YOU DESTROYED IT. HE SERVED MAGNIUS AS AN EMISSARY TO THE OTHER GRAND CARDINALS. HE ALSO DID ERRANDS MAGNIUS WOULD NOT TRUST TO ANYONE ELSE.

Something clicked in Lloyd's memory. He remembered being in the jail at Palmacosta, listening to Governor-General Dorr talk to a Desian. The voice. The _voice_...

"When he worked for Magnius, did he have dealings with a man named Dorr?"

ONE OF HIS DUTIES WAS TO COLLECT MONEY FROM DORR.

"Why did you ask that?" Sheena wanted to know.

"I've seen him before—it was before you joined us. He was the Desian who took Dorr's payments to Magnius. He was there right before Dorr was killed."

"How do you know all this?" Zelos demanded suspiciously of the skeleton.

JOSEPH LIKES TO TALK, BUT HOLDS HIS HIRELINGS IN CONTEMPT. HE FELT I WAS A SYMPATHETIC EAR.

"He _trusted_ you?" Sheena flared.

Ribs quickly held up his hands placatingly. Then he wrote quickly. TO AN EXTENT. I DIDN'T TAKE PART IN KIDNAPPING, AND ONLY FOUGHT WHEN IT WAS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE PRISONERS. I WAS WAITING FOR YOU TO COME TO ME.

"How did you know we would come?" Lloyd asked.

Now Ribs hesitated. He started to write something, then erased it before he showed it to them. He wrote something else.

I JUST DID.

"Why?"

Again the hesitation.

I WAS ALIVE AND HUMAN ONCE. I KNOW THAT. I KNOW THAT. BUT I THINK I DID SOMETHING TERRIBLE, AND I MUST NOW MAKE UP FOR IT. I REMEMBER SO LITTLE FROM WHEN I WAS ALIVE.

Sheena scowled slightly. "What does that have to do with it?"

I MUST ACCOMPLISH A SPECIFIC GOAL TO ATONE FOR MY SIN. WHEN SOMETHING WILL GET ME CLOSER TO ACCOMPLISHING THAT GOAL, I KNOW WHAT IT IS. I KNEW TRAVELING WITH JOSEPH'S BAND WOULD LET ME MEET YOU, AND I KNOW BEING WITH YOU WILL ALLOW ME TO ACCOMPLISH MY GOAL.

"What is your goal?"

Ribs hesitated. I DO NOT KNOW YET. WHAT IS YOURS?

"I'm trying to rid the world of Exspheres."

There was a long pause. Then Ribs wrote. I'M GLAD I GOT THAT SORTED OUT. IT WAS NAGGING AT ME--HAVING TO ACCOMPLISH A GOAL WHEN I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO.

Sheena snorted. "You just found out what your goal is?"

YES.

"Are you telling the truth?" she asked.

I WOULD NOT LIE ABOUT THIS. I SWEAR BY MY HOPE OF REDEMPTION, BY MY SWORD AND SHIELD, THAT MY PURPOSE IS TO RID THE WORLD OF EXSPHERES, AND I SHALL AID YOU IN YOUR QUEST TO BE RID OF EXSPHERES. MAY THE BONES OF MY SPINE BE GROUND TO POWDER AND MY SOUL BE CAUGHT IN ETERNAL THRALL IF I AM LYING.

Zelos swayed slightly, his eyes unfocused. "Whoa. I _felt_ that!"

Lloyd turned to look at him. "What?"

"I can do magic, remember? What he just wrote was a sacred oath. He did something with magic that reinforced it. He meant every word, and if he _doesn't_ live up to the oath, the punishment he included in it will happen to him."

Sheena looked horrified. "You can _do_ that with magic?"

Zelos nodded. "_I_ couldn't do it, but it's possible. It's difficult, and the oath-taker has to agree to it, as well as the person who works the mana, and both have to be totally sincere. He happens to be both the caster and the oath-taker. It's kinda like a summoning pact."

Sheena looked at him oddly. "I didn't know you knew so much about magic."

Zelos shifted slightly. "I've been studying magic in my free time. And I've had a lot of free time in the past couple of years." He sounded slightly guilty about it.

Lloyd sighed. "I'm going to sleep."

Ribs erased his oath.

I DO NOT SLEEP. I WILL KEEP WATCH FOR THE NIGHT. I WILL WAKE YOU AT DAWN.

Both Lloyd and Sheena looked at Zelos. Zelos said gravely, "We can trust him. He can't betray us and keep his spine with that oath in effect."

Lloyd looked at him gravely. "Ribs, I trust you."

The grinning skull nodded once. I TRUST YOU, AS WELL. I WILL NOT BETRAY YOU.

The three living settled in, around the fire. Ribs sat down, facing the fire, further out from the flame.

Lloyd slept soundly. He was very tired.

Sheena slept warily, as she always did. A lifetime of training did not go away easily.

Zelos slept badly. He was troubled by the skeleton's willingness to make so grave an oath. He couldn't imagine the sincerity necessary to take that oath, and then reinforce it upon yourself. He had come a long way since he'd met Lloyd and his friends for the first time, but admitted to himself that he had even an even further way to go. He finally slept, and dreamed of being forced to make that kind of decision.

Ribs never slept. He never ate. He didn't have to. He passed the remaining hours of the night in one of the few pleasures left to him. He sharpened his pencil, and began caressing a sheet of paper.

**Lloyd woke up with something shaking his shoulder. **He opened his eyes, and looked directly into the poker-faced, eternal grin of a skull. He started slightly, then recovered.

Ribs held up his slate.

GOOD MORNING, LLOYD.

Lloyd nodded. "Good morning, Ribs." He spoke quietly. "What did you do all night?"

Ribs hesitated, then opened up one of his pouches. He pulled out a rolled sheet of paper, and handed it to Lloyd.

Lloyd unrolled it and smoothed it out.

It was a pencil drawing. In the center was a beautifully shaded and intricately detailed oval-shaped drawing of three people, asleep in bedrolls, around a fire. It was so realistic he could almost see the flickering of the shadows as the fire burned.

Around it were three smaller ovals, showing sleeping faces...

Lloyd's looked up. "You drew us while we were _asleep_?" He exclaimed.

Ribs picked up his slate, stared at the end of his pencil for a second, then pulled out a large gum eraser. He erased his previous message, and wrote.

IT WAS A VERY PEACEFUL SCENE. I WANTED TO SEE IF I COULD CAPTURE THE FEELING. I WAS ESPECIALLY MOVED BY THE LIGHTING.

Lloyd looked at the paper again. True, the expressions on the faces of he, Sheena, and Zelos _were_ peaceful, and it _was _a beautiful piece of work. Lloyd looked up at him. "It's amazing, Ribs. But I have some advice for you."

Ribs tilted his grinning face.

"Don't let Sheena find out you drew her while she was asleep. She's self-conscious, and she probably wouldn't like people watching her while she's not awake."

Ribs nodded.

"I'll wake up the others. You put this up and take care of it." He handed the paper back to Ribs, who carefully rolled it and stowed it away.

Ribs watched Lloyd. The young man crept to sit by Sheena's bedroll. Had he had lips, Ribs would have smiled at the tenderness Lloyd showed as he shook the young woman awake. Ribs had some suspicions, and they strengthened slightly.

Sheena stirred, and sat up. Ribs watched the two of them speak softly to each other. Those suspicions intensified.

Then Lloyd went to Zelos, and Ribs noticed his technique altered subtly.

Lloyd prodded Zelos in the ribs with his boot. The redhead snored on. Lloyd prodded him harder. One may even venture to say it was a kick.

Zelos sat up, going from sleep to alertness instantly. "Ow! HEY!"

"Morning, Zelos. Sleep well?"

"Not really, " Zelos grumbled. "And getting booted awake didn't help, either." He got up. Ribs had the feeling that this sort of banter had been happening for a while.

Lloyd looked around. "All right. We can eat on the road. We've got to catch up to Joseph."

Sheena nodded. "Good. Let's go!"

Ribs stood up. _Yes_. Now he could _really _begin...

**Zelos was tired and aching. **They hadn't _exactly_ been running. The pace had been more like a slightly accelerated, less springy jog. It could be kept up longer than a run, but doing it for two straight hours after a night of bad sleep and on a handful of dried meat was still very exerting.

At least Ribs was proving useful. He led the group, easily keeping ahead of them.

They were approaching a hill. The road curved to go around it.

When they nearly reached the hill, Ribs raised a fist and skidded to a halt.

"What is it?" Lloyd demanded. Ribs pulled out his slate and pencil, and scribbled briefly as Sheena and Zelos came up behind Lloyd.

AMBUSH FROM THE BACKSIDE OF THE HILL. DRAW YOUR WEAPONS, THEN ANNOUNCE WE'RE TAKING A BREAK.

"How do you know?"

I HEARD THEM.

He went back a few yards, and laid his slate down. Then he drew his antique sword and shield.

Lloyd got out his swords, Sheena produced her cards, and Zelos unsheathed the Last Fencer and buckled his shield on.

"Alright, guys, let's take a break here. We made good time," Lloyd announced slightly too loudly.

Someone cried, "NOW!" and several people rushed over the top of the hill. Zelos looked up, to see a huge, armored, and be-axed man coming at him. Zelos didn't think about it—he dodged the first huge vertical swipe of the axe, and thrust with his sword. And even as he extended his arm, he worked the flows of mana in a simple, but potent spell.

The sword's tip crunched into the man's breastplate, and an instant later a large electrical detonation happened at the end of the sword. The man convulsed once, and only once.

Sheena's foe was highly unlucky—he got hit five times in various places by a magically enhanced card. The pain was amazing, all things considered. And then she did an attack with the card. The man was blown backwards—off his feet, and out of life as well.

The person who had come down the hill at Ribs had pulled up short, and gone, "YOU!"

Then he'd closed the distance, and tried slashing at the skeleton, only to discover whatever everyone else found out about Ribs—he was good at dodging. He tried. He really did. But he couldn't hit Ribs, and then the chipped, but otherwise keen, blade swung twice--once into each shoulder--and the point slid into the man's belly.

Lloyd was parrying, blocking, and inflicting minor cuts. Then he got an opening, and stabbed rapidly with both swords, in a blurred maneuver called a Sword Rain. The man crumpled, his heart and lungs pierced.

Lloyd turned. "Is everybody all right?"

"Yeah, we are," Zelos began. Then a movement caught his eye. Up on the hill, a woman raised herself over the edge. Her clothing suggested she was a sorceress. "Lloyd, look out!" he pointed.

Lloyd turned, just in time to see the woman finish her incantation. A burst of compressed air raced forward, running right over Lloyd.

Sheena screamed in rage, and dashed up the hill. The magic-user saw the angry woman coming at her, death written all over her face. She could only stare at doom approaching.

Sheena had almost reached her—then a reddish-purple magic square developed under the sorceress and the lances angled in.

They came in the space of a heartbeat and a half, transfixing her through the waist in four different directions before the last lance came from directly over her head.

He face pale, the woman fell as the magic lances disappeared.

Sheena wheeled at Ribs. There was only one possibility for that spell—Bloody Lance. "She was _mine_!" she flared.

Ribs held up his hands, palm outwards. Then he bowed a bit apologetically.

Lloyd got up, groaning. "That _hurt_."

"You all right, man?" Zelos came forward. He concentrated, and did a First Aid on Lloyd. Lloyd sighed with relief.

"Doing better with that. Thanks, Zelos."

A gasp drew their attention. The man who'd recognized Ribs lay on the ground, still alive, but crippled.

Lloyd moved to kneel over the man. The rest gathered around.

The man chuckled with surprising good humor. "Hah. You got us good. I wondered why Joseph was so worried about you. Now I know." He focused on Ribs. "I wish you'd tell me why you're with them, Bone Man."

Ribs made no move to answer. Lloyd said, "How far ahead is Joseph?"

The man paused, then said, "Ah, what the hell. I never liked Joseph anyway," he muttered. "He should be about two hours ahead of here. He said he'd wait for us. When you catch up to him, give him a slice for me." The man's voice was weak, but was holding oddly steady.

"Why'd you work for him?" Zelos asked.

"The money—and those exsphere things. He hired this lot to ambush you and told me to make sure they did it right."

"You know we can't take you with us," Lloyd said sadly.

The man smirked. "I know. I have two favors to ask before I go."

"What are they?"

"Let me have something to drink."

Sheena went to the packs they'd dropped and fumbled out a waterskin. The man took several long gulps, and sighed. "Ahh. I always liked a good drink of water. Now...my second favor--kill me quick." He looked at Ribs. "You always seemed a decent sort, Bone Man—at least you treated the prisoners kindly and if you had to kill something, you did it quick. Will you extend the same decency to an old companion?" Ribs laid a calcareous hand on the man's shoulder, then opened another pouch on his bag. He pulled out a long, sheathed dagger, and drew the small blade. The empty sockets looked at the companions. He made a 'turn-around' gesture—one finger extended and spun around in a horizontal circle.

They turned. There was a wet, organic kind of sound, a sigh, then another wet sound. They turned around to see the skeleton pulling the needle-pointed blade out from the bottom of the man's chin.

Ribs patted the man again, carefully wiped the blade on the man's sleeve, and then bowed his skull and clasped his hands together. He held the pose for a minute, then stood up. He walked a little bit down the road, and retrieved his slate from where he'd safely left it. He picked up his pencil.

"Did you know him?" Lloyd asked.

The pencil scritched its way across the slate.

HIS NAME WAS ARNON, BUT HE LIKED TO BE CALLED ARNIE. HE WAS MOSTLY A DECENT MAN WHO DECIDED TO BE A MERCENARY. I LIKED HIM.

"Then why'd you finish him off?"

BECAUSE I LIKED HIM. A CLEAN THRUST WITH A DAGGER, AND HE WAS SAVED SEVERAL HOURS OF SUFFERING. THE WOUND I GAVE HIM TO HIS STOMACH WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY.

"What were you doing bent over like that?" Sheena wanted to know.

PRAYING FOR ARNIE. FOR FORGIVENESS.

They didn't know what to say. Ribs charitably erased his message, and wrote a new one onto his slate.

LET'S CATCH UP TO JOSEPH. I HAVE A STRONG URGE TO HAVE A LONG TALK WITH HIM.

**Joseph was in a bad mood. **

He was, however, extremely grateful that Lloyd still wore his red clothes. A man had been sent up a tree, and reported seeing a red speck off in the distance. So, the ambush hadn't worked. Arnie was probably dead. He'd been _hoping_ for the ambush to work.

More than anything he wanted to stay away from Lloyd.

Lloyd had rearranged the world, and caused the downfall of Cruxis and the Desians, in less than a year. He was the Eternal Swordsman, the reuniter of the worlds, the fighter who, in one day, waged twenty duels against the elite of the Papal Knights and forced each of them to surrender. Only an idiot would willingly go against Lloyd.

Joseph was no idiot. He didn't _want _to go against Lloyd, but could see the point in it. The boy was single-minded, implacable, and undeniably skilled. He had to slow the boy down, stop him completely, or get him off his trail. The former Desian glanced around at the stand of trees they were in. An ambush would help. He could see possibilities in the surrounding trees. He'd done plenty of things he hadn't wanted to do. They hadn't killed him so far.

Once he'd decided that he was going to fight Lloyd's group, whether he actually wanted to or not, he felt better. One decision out of the way. His hand dropped onto the hilt of one of his swords.

He squared his shoulders. "Right. _You_ and _you_, get yourselves and the hosts to the middle of these trees, and guard the prisoners. I want you to hang back, and _not _join in, no matter what. Be ready to run if it goes bad. As for the rest of you..."

**Ribs was leading again. **Lloyd was still surprised by the skeleton's turn of speed. They weren't exactly running, but they were eating up the distance.

Up ahead he could see a stand of trees, on either side of the road. And in the middle of the road was the line of captives, with two guards.

"I see them! We're almost there!" he yelled, and began running flat-out. He bypassed Ribs. Ribs had a startled moment, then sped up as well. The _idiot_...

When Lloyd was just entering the edge of the trees, someone yelled, "NOW!"

From Lloyd's point of view, what happened next was pain as an Air Thrust centered on him went off. He was held up by the swirling, ripping air currents, then he collapsed.

It wasn't a strong one, but the accelerated ribbons of air whirling around him gave him several deep cuts.

Then men dropped down out of the trees.

Ribs was there then, his black sword and shield out. The calcareous fighter appeared to go berserk, and there seemed to be three of him occupying the same spot.

One of the band fell down without his head, and another collapsed after that lethal sword pierced his chest. The rest of them fell back against that insane rush. Several yelled, "It's HIM!"

Then Sheena and Zelos caught up, then. Sheena joined in beside Ribs, and one of the bandits got hit four times, then blasted with a Demon Seal. Between her and the berserk fury of Ribs, the kidnappers were extremely reluctant to come nearer.

Zelos crouched by Lloyd, gathering that energy that was something other than mana. He released it at Lloyd. "You all right, man?"

"I am now. Thanks!" He levered himself up, picked up his swords, and practically hurled himself into the fray.

To his surprise, the person who met him was Joseph. The elf-kin's twin swords were strange. They were transparent, almost just blue coloration in the air. The shape of the blades was odd, too.

Joseph smirked, noticing Lloyd's attention to his weapons. "Like the swords, Lloyd? These are the Seraphim Feathers."

Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "Really? Interesting. Where did you get them?"

"I found them. I have to say, I'm curious about your swords as well."

Lloyd glanced over at the other fight. Zelos had joined in, and the men, realizing they'd be cut to pieces if they just acted defensively, were surrounding them—but even with two-on-one, they still had their hands full. He looked back. "This one is the Vorpal Sword." He moved his ice blade.

"And the other?"

"Its name is Flamberge," Lloyd smirked.

Joseph looked startled for a moment. "Kratos's sword?"

Lloyd smirked further.

"Well, I'll have to see how about adding it to my collection," Joseph said. His hand flickered.

Lloyd tried to block, but the transparent blue blade passed right through Flamberge—with no harm to itself or the flame blade. However, it cut Lloyd just fine—slicing open his shirt and opening his chest. If Lloyd hadn't had begun pulling back as soon as he saw the swords pass through each other, his career would have come to an abrupt halt. As it was, he had diagonal line sliced across his chest.

Lloyd didn't have time to regroup—he had to continue dodging immediately.

As he avoided those ethereal blades, he noticed Joseph wasn't actually very good. He was just about competent, but he made the occasional mistake. The problem was that Lloyd couldn't block—he had to physically move out of the way of each slice and thrust.

Lloyd took advantage of the mistakes, and managed to score a few nicks on the blond elfkin.

Behind him, Lloyd heard a death cry—followed by two others. Then Ribs was standing by him, his sword flicking at Joseph.

Now Joseph found himself hard-pressed. Ribs moved like he was dancing—a macabre dance of unrelenting death—and with Joseph's attention divided, Lloyd managed to get in a few choice strikes.

Joseph was sweating. "Help me!" he yelled at his surviving men.

One enterprising fellow, figuring to earn himself a pay raise, broke from trading slashes with Zelos, turned on his heel, and legged it over to his boss. He dove at Ribs from behind, hitting the bone man squarely in the back.

The skeleton fell apart, bones flying everywhere.

"Run!" Joseph commanded, taking to his heels.

The man who'd scattered Ribs scrambled up and managed to dodge a swipe from Lloyd. Then he, too, fled.

Now two men were facing Sheena and Zelos—very poor odds considering the opponents. Sheena's opponent ran, and practically flew past Lloyd, chasing after his employer.

Zelos's man wasn't so lucky. He started to turn—but the Last Fencer flickered, and gashed out the back of the man's thigh. He collapsed, and almost immediately got pierced by the long blue blade.

Lloyd looked down at the forlorn bones laying there. "Ah, _no_...they got him."

The scattered bones lay motionless in the leaf mould.

Sheena came up, looking at them. She sniffed. "He seemed all right..."

Then a faint rattling began as Zelos came up. A few of the bones were shaking against each other. The rattling spread thought the brownish-yellow pieces. Then they began actually moving.

It happened very quickly, all of them coming together at once. It took merely a moment for the limbs and torso to rejoin. The hands and feet, with their myriad of bones, took a few more seconds. Then the near-complete skeleton picked up its skull and fitted it back on with a certain amount of care.

Ribs stood up.

"How did you do that?" Lloyd asked, his face pale.

Ribs opened his pouch and produced his slate. He ran his fingers over the spot where a corner had been broken off in the fall, then got out his pencil.

POSITIVE THINKING.

Lloyd blinked slowly. "Ah. All right."

Then he collapsed backwards.


	4. Blood and Bone

Chapter 4: Blood and Bone

**Sheena gasped, and half-ran the couple of steps to Lloyd.** She kneeled over him, putting her hand on his chest.

She went completely still, then slowly looked at her palm. She saw the red wetness smeared across it. She opened the diagonal cut across his shirt—and saw the diagonal cut across his chest seeping blood. Her reaction was automatic.

"Zelos! Heal him!"

"What?" Zelos was bewildered.

She held out her palm to him. "This is his! He's hurt badly! Heal him!"

Zelos immediately fell into casting the spell. He gave it as much as he could, and centered the Healing Stream on Lloyd.

The bluish flows of soothing energy surrounded Lloyd's inert form.

When they'd faded, Sheena opened the cut in his shirt, and checked the slash. "It's closed. I think we got him in time."

Zelos swallowed. "Sheena..."

Something in his voice warned her. "What, Zelos?" she asked sickly.

"He's lost a lot of blood. I can heal wounds, but I don't know how to replace blood."

Sheena's eyes filled with tears. "Zelos...do something..." she begged.

"I'll do everything I can, Sheena, but we've got to get him to somebody better at healing than I am. Raine could probably do it."

"We don't know where she is!" She began crying. "He'll die!"

A hand tapped her on the shoulder. She continued sobbing. The hand tried a couple of more times—then gave her an almighty slap on her back.

Her breath hissed in between her teeth. She whirled—and found herself face-to-face with Ribs's slate.

It read MAKE A STRETCHER FOR HIM. WE MUST CARRY HIM TO A TOWN.

Sheena got a grip on herself.

"Zelos, the closest town is Ozette, right?"

Zelos pictured a map. "Yeah." He confirmed.

Ribs handed her his slate again. GO FIND STRAIGHT BRANCHES. He pulled out his sword and gave it to her. She took it, and wordlessly began dashing around the stand of trees, looking for likely limbs.

Ribs picked up his slate, and rubbed out his message. He scrawled something. He gave it to Zelos.

I CAN TEACH YOU HEALING THEORY.

"What?"  
Ribs didn't bother to erase. He wrote further down the slate.

I CAN TEACH YOU HOW TO FORCE A PERSON'S BODY TO MAKE BLOOD.

"How do you know?"

Now Ribs was forced to rub it out.

I WAS ALIVE ONCE. I FOUGHT LIKE YOU—SWORD, MAGIC, HEALING. I KNOW HOW TO REPLACE LOST BLOOD.

"Why can't you do it for Lloyd?"

Ribs almost slapped Zelos, but restrained himself and scribbled down on his slate. YOU GIVE SOMEONE SOME OF YOUR LIFE FORCE TO HEAL THEM. I DON'T HAVE ANY LIFE FORCE. BUT I REMEMBER HOW TO MAKE BLOOD.

"Okay, how do I do it?"

YOU STIMULATE THE BONE MARROW WITH YOUR LIFE FORCE.

"Wha...? Bone marrow?"

Ribs' jaws ground together until his teeth made some alarming sounds. He yanked some paper out of his pouch, and sketched a cross-section of a bone. He labeled it and wrote out a summary of how marrow produced blood. He gave it to Zelos.

Zelos scanned it. "Oh! I remember this!" He read it several times. He looked up when he felt a touch on his arm. Ribs handed him the slate.

WE CAN'T OVERDO IT. IF WE MAKE HIM PRODUCE TOO MUCH, WE'LL DRAIN HIS SYSTEM AND HE'LL DIE.

"So what do we do?"

WE LEARN TO WALK ON A KNIFE-EDGE.

Zelos swallowed. "Okay."

Sheena came up, a couple of long, straight limbs and several smaller ones. Ribs patted Zelos's shoulder, then went to help make the stretcher.

**For Zelos, the next few days were hard to remember.** They had a surreal, nightmarish quality to them, even the times when the sun was shining. They never stopped for the night—only for short naps and quick meals. They could only travel at a slow walking pace because of their burden. Zelos had to heal Lloyd every few hours—around the clock. Sometimes, he'd be woken out of his nap to heal Lloyd.

Ribs proved to be a lifesaver. He didn't need to sleep, so he monitored Lloyd constantly when they stopped. While he and Sheena were carrying the stretcher, Zelos kept a finger on Lloyd's pulse.

Zelos had trouble understanding Ribs' instructions on healing theory. He understood how it would happen once he'd stimulated the bone marrow. He just couldn't work out how to actually direct his life force at the bone marrow. Ribs, being unable to actually demonstrate, couldn't help much.

Sheena was at first concerned about getting Lloyd to eat—until Ribs suggested mixing minced food and water and mashing them together to make a paste. Then they poured it into Lloyd's mouth. He automatically swallowed, to their relief.

All they could do for Lloyd was feed him, keep him warm at night, heal him, and keep moving towards New Ozette.

The strain of healing Lloyd every few hours began to tell on Zelos. He grew haggard, and after the first day, subsisted almost entirely on Orange Gels to be able to keep on healing Lloyd.

Afterwards, he was surprised to learn that it had been three nights and two and a half days. It had felt like an eternity.

Sheena's contribution besides cooking and feeding Lloyd was a bit more obscure. On the first night, while Lloyd was doing well, Ribs took her aside, and asked a question.

"What?" she demanded.

He wrote it again.

YOU LOVE HIM, DON'T YOU?  
She blushed, then nodded.

LET HIM KNOW IT.

"Why?"

HE'S PROBABLY SEMI-AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND HIM. TALK TO HIM. KISS HIM SOMETIMES. SAY YOU LOVE HIM.

She blushed more. "But...well..."

LET HIM KNOW IT. IT'LL COMFORT HIM. HE'S GOING TO BE HAVING VERY STRANGE DREAMS UNTIL HE RECOVERS.

She immediately gave in, and went over to kiss Lloyd. It was one of the hardest things she'd done, since Zelos was watching and neither her nor Lloyd were really demonstrative about their feelings for each other. But each time after that, it got a bit easier. Once, she was sure he smiled.

At the end of those few hellish days, they came to the village of New Ozette.

The town had been rebuilt and even expanded. Sheena had been involved in the construction—she'd asked Gnome to sculpt the living rock into those delicate curving ramps. Ironically, what had been a town notorious for its bigotry was now home to mostly half-elves. Not a single one of its original residents lived there.

They carried Lloyd into the town, the oddly assorted group drawing a few stares. They got him in the inn, and rented a room. Then the first order of business was to give him a bath and wash off the blood that had dried all over his torso. Afterwards, Ribs took Sheena aside again.

ASK ALL OF THE TOWNSFOLK. IF ANY OF THEM HAVE ANY TALENT FOR HEALING ARTS, BRING THEM. PAY THEM OR THREATEN THEM. WHATEVER IT TAKES.

"Why?"

Ribs turned his empty gaze on Zelos. ZELOS IS BURNING HIMSELF OUT. HE MUST REST. I'M IMPRESSED HE'S LASTED THIS LONG. WE NEED ANOTHER HEALER TO HELP HIM.

Sheena paled, and then dashed out of the room.

Zelos sat by Lloyd's bed, his hand over his eyes. Ribs watched him with concern.

Suddenly Zelos jumped up and whooped. "I can do it, Ribs!"

Ribs was sure Zelos' reason has slipped, until Zelos yelled, "I can sense his marrow!"

Ribs jumped up, and began getting containers out of the cooking supplies. Then he scribbled on his slate, and gave it to Zelos.

Zelos focused on it. HELP ME FEED HIM. WE HAVE TO GIVE HIS SYSTEM SOMETHING TO WORK WITH.

So when Sheena came back in half an hour later, with an earnest-looking young half-elf in tow, she found Zelos and Ribs busily mashing minced meat and vegetables to unsavory-looking semi-liquids.

Zelos looked up, his drawn face elated. "Sheena! I can help Lloyd replace his blood!"

"Then do it!"

"We have to feed him first."

She immediately grabbed a cup of diced meat, poured water into it, and began mashing.

Zelos looked up at the young man. "What's your name?"

"Anthony, sir."

Zelos winced. "Don't 'sir' me, Anthony. Have you heard of Lloyd Irving, the Eternal Swordsman?"

Anthony nodded.

"Right. That's him in the bed." Zelos said gaily. He went on cheerfully. "You can use healing techniques, right?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. You're going to help me keep Lloyd alive."

Ribs clapped to get their attention. Anthony looked at the animated skeleton, almost blue in the face from fright.

Zelos grinned. "That's Ribs. He's human, but he's lost a lot of weight recently."

Ribs scribbled on his slate, then handed it to Zelos. Zelos glanced at it.

"All right. Let's feed him"

There were several cups, and, as usual, they essentially poured the stuff down Lloyd's throat.

Then Zelos stood up.

"All right. Here we go..."

He fell into his casting. They all waited. Sheena held her breath.

Ribs had been quite explicit in his instruction not to use a powerful healing technique. So Zelos used a basic First Aid.

He sat down after it released, feeling very drained. He knew he got it right. He'd aimed his life energy at Lloyd's marrow. He'd _felt_ it start to work.

Sheena fretted. "Did it work?"

Zelos nodded. "I _know_ it."

Over the next few minutes, Lloyd's pale face got a bit of color back.

Ribs sat back down and slouched over. Right now he _really_ wished he could sleep; he felt mentally exhausted. Oh, well. He'd get over it. Now, next thing on the list. He picked up his slate, wrote briefly, and got up to give it to Sheena.

She read it. GO GET A SKILLED HEALER—OR A GOOD DOCTOR.

She stared. "Why?"

Did she _always_ have to ask that?

HE IS OUT OF IMMEDIATE DANGER. WE CAN MANAGE HERE. UP TO NOW, ALL WE'VE BEEN DOING IS SUSTAINING HIM. NOW WE NEED A DOCTOR TO LET US KNOW WHAT WILL GET HIM BETTER.

"I thought we _were_ getting him better."

WE WERE KEEPING HIM ALIVE. THERE'S A DIFFERENCE.

She went white. "You lied to me!"

Ribs got his message written quickly. NO. I JUST DIDN'T TELL YOU. YOU WOULD HAVE WORRIED IF I'D SAID HE WOULD DIE IN A FEW HOURS WITHOUT OUR CARE. LLOYD NEEDED YOU ABLE TO FUNCTION.

Ribs could see it sinking in. Sheena began to cry. He put a hand on her shoulder—and she surprised him by throwing her arms around his rib cage and clinging to him. He patted her vaguely, not quite knowing what to do.

After a minute or so, she sniffed—a particularly unlovely sound—and smiled up at the six-foot skeleton. "Ribs, you're a good man, but you make a lousy shoulder to cry on."

Ribs grinned back. He always did, but now there was a hint that it was because he wanted to. She released him, and he picked up his slate.

GO SOMEWHERE AND GET A GOOD DOCTOR OR HEALER.

"I know where one is. I'll get him."

HOW LONG?

She thought about the distances involved and her route.

"About a week."

WE'LL HOLD THE FORT.

She looked at Zelos, who was sitting in his chair, staring into space. "I'm going to get a doctor, Zelos. Ribs just let me know we needed one."

Zelos started, looked up, and nodded vaguely. Anything anyone said was all right by him.

Sheena leaned over Lloyd and kissed him. "I'll be back," she whispered. "I love you."

She left, wishing they hadn't left the Rheairds at the Elemental Research Laboratory.

Ribs wrote on his slate, and stepped the short distance to give it to Anthony.

Anthony, trembling, read it.

FEELING ALL RIGHT, ANTHONY?

"Y-y-y-y-y-" the poor boy stammered.

Ribs patted him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up. Then he politely took back his slate, erased and scribbled, then gave it back to him.

HOW MUCH HEALING DO YOU KNOW?

"I-I-I-I-I can d-do N-n-n-nurse," he stuttered.

GOOD MAN. NOW, YOU SEE THE REDHEAD OVER THERE? JUST NOD.

Anthony nodded.

HE'S BEEN HEALING LLOYD, NEARLY CONSTANTLY, FOR ALMOST THREE DAYS.

Anthony went pale. "He shouldn't do that!"

Ribs nodded. I KNOW. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE YOU. I WANT YOU TO TAKE OVER FOR A WHILE.

"B-b-but, that'll drain me, t-too."

IT'S JUST FOR ONE NIGHT. THEN YOU CAN ALTERNATE WITH HIM.

"A-alright."

They heard a thump, then a snore. Zelos had fallen of out his chair. Ribs scribbled on his slate.

Anthony read it when it was handed to him. LOOKS LIKE YOUR SHIFT STARTS NOW. HELP ME GET HIM INTO A BED. YOU CAN EXPLAIN TO THE INNKEEPER.

By opening all required doors first, and with Ribs, with his surprising strength, carrying Zelos's torso, they got him into a room without too much trouble. Anthony realized he wasn't as afraid of the voiceless skeleton now.

**The rest of the day and the night passed easily.** Ribs recommended Anthony heal Lloyd every six hours. Anthony tried talking to the fleshless man, but Ribs pleaded that he was running out of pencils. He advised the young half-elf to get a book to read. So he did.

Anthony got quite far into it.

The next morning, Zelos came in, yawning. "G'morning."

Ribs gave a small wave. Anthony woke up from where he'd been sleeping in a chair.

Ribs looked closely at Zelos. How he saw things was a mystery to him, even after all this time, but he was wise enough to be thankful for it.

What he currently saw was that Zelos was still haggard, but he had lost the grey-faced look of exhaustion. He picked up his slate and wrote on it. He got up to give it to Zelos.

FEELING BETTER?

"Yeah. I am. I didn't realize it, but I was spacing out a lot yesterday." He looked at Lloyd. "Any problems while I was out?"

Anthony shook his head. "He was fine the whole time. We healed him three times." He'd grown comfortable enough around Ribs to lose the stutter.

Ribs thought of something. He erased his slate, then wrote something. He gave it to Anthony.

WILL YOU GO TO THE STORE AND SEE IF YOU CAN GET SOME NEW PENCILS? I'M ALMOST OUT.

Anthony nodded, and left the room.

Ribs rubbed out his request, then wrote a new one. He gave it to Zelos.

WILL YOU TALK TO LLOYD WHILE SHEENA IS AWAY?

Zelos started. "She _left_--?" he exclaimed. Then memory caught up to him. "Oh! Yeah-h-h! I remember!" He paused. "Why should I talk to him?"

Ribs smote his forehead, and then wrote some more.

MAKE HIM FEEL LIKE HE'S NOT ALONE. TELL JOKES OR SOMETHING. HE'S PROBABLY HALF AWARE OF EVERY WORD SAID AROUND HIM.

"Is that why Sheena's been showing all that affection?"

The bone man nodded.

"Okay. I'm glad you don't expect me to kiss and profess love for him."

Ribs tapped his chin thoughtfully. Then he wrote I'D BET YOU'D DO IT IF YOU HAD TO.

Zelos started to deny it—and then stopped. He sighed. "You're right--except for the kissing part. I'm not into guys. Lloyd's like a brother to me, though. I'd do almost anything to keep him going." He grinned. "Besides, Sheena would kill me if I let him die."

Ribs patted him on the shoulder.

Anthony came back then, carrying a couple of small boxes of pencils. "My uncle runs the store, and he gave me these when I said a friend needed them."

Ribs gratefully took them. He drew his sword, and sharpened a pencil on its edge. He actually got a fine point on it. Then he wrote on his slate, and handed it to Zelos.

I THINK IT'S TIME YOU STARTED TALKING.

Zelos took a breath, then began telling how he'd met Lloyd.

**Zelos had always considered himself able to run his mouth, but he was hard-pressed to keep going for the next several days.** He told stories. He repeated off-color jokes that made Anthony blush and Ribs slap his knee in mute laughter. He talked about his family and his former life as a Chosen. He told what history he could remember. He recited etiquette lessons that had been drilled into him at an early age. He stopped only to sleep, eat, and heal Lloyd. He didn't tell the story of their journey two years ago—he figured Lloyd would respond better to stuff he didn't know.

Eventually, though, he ran out of material and he and Ribs spent the last two days working out a sign language, while Anthony read from his book.

True to her estimate, Sheena came back a week after she'd left, with the silver-haired doctor from Flanoir in tow.

The bespectacled man came in quite calmly. "One day, Sheena is going to stop coming to me with her medical emergencies, and the world will end," he announced sardonically.

"You're the best," Zelos told him.

"True. That's how I make my living." He opened his bag. "I'll need you to leave the room while I examine the patient."

Ribs stood up. The normally unflappable doctor jumped a mile when he noticed the walking skeleton for the first time. "What's _that_?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"He's Ribs," said Sheena. "Don't worry—he's a good guy. He's been helping us."

The doctor recovered quickly. "I wish I'd known you during my medical training...er, Ribs. I had a lot of trouble learning the skeletal structure."

Ribs gave him a thumbs-up, and they left the man to his work.

Outside the room, Zelos turned to Sheena. "What'd you do?"

She growled. "I had to run all over Tethe'alla. I went to Meltokio to get the Rheairds, flew to Flanoir and got the doctor, then I brought him here."

Zelos figured the distances in his head. "Alright. Anything interesting happen?"

"I ran into Regal, and told him what happened. He said he'll be here in a few days."

"Where was this?"

"Flanoir."

"It'll be good to see him again."

The doctor came out of the room. "How long ago was he injured?" The man asked.

Sheena thought for a moment. "Ten days."

"He should have died nine days ago," the doctor said bluntly.

"What?" Sheena and Zelos said together.

"By rights, he should have died. I saw the major wound had closed. One of you has some healing skills I take it?"

Zelos nodded. "Me, and the guy over there."

"That might help to explain it—but he still should be dead, even with that and that Exsphere."

Sheena slapped her forehead. "Of course, Zelos! Lloyd's an angel!"

The doctor stared. "An angel...?"

She and Zelos explained how certain Exspheres could make someone evolve into an angel. The professional healer pressed for details, but their knowledge of the actual mechanics was nil.

The doctor grinned at nothing. "Well," he said. "Well, well, well."

"What is it?" Sheena demanded.

"I'm going to charge half my usual price for this, Sheena," he said dreamily.

"Why's that?"

"I'm going to be the first doctor to detail the biology of angels." He came out of his daze. "All right, what did you do, exactly?"

"I used healing arts a lot," Zelos said.

"How often?"

"Every few hours at first. Then every six hours after we got more blood in him."

"You did a transfusion out _here_?" The doctor exclaimed angrily.

"We used healing arts to make his marrow produce more blood."

He calmed. "I never would have thought of that..." the doctor said. He looked at Anthony. "You can use healing arts, boy?"

"Yessir," Anthony swallowed.

Behind his large, round glasses, the doctor's eyes gleamed. "How'd you like to train under me? I can your talents, and I can teach you doctoring."

Anthony's eyes brightened, as well. "That'd be great, sir."

The doctor grinned at nothing again.

"How's Lloyd?" Sheena pressed.

"Wha...? Oh, he's going to be fine if you get him to make more blood and then keep him in bed for along about a week. No, wait--he recovers so fast, make it a few days. He's sleeping more than he is unconscious. You don't really need me." He moved over to Anthony and put his arm around the half-elf's shoulders. "Let's go talk, my boy," he said, leading him down the hallway.

Ribs watched them go. He looked at Zelos and made a few gestures.

"Really?" Zelos asked.

"What was that?" Sheena demanded, confused.

"Oh, sorry. Ribs and I came up with a sign language. It's kinda basic, but we can talk without wearing out pencils."

"What did he say?"

"He said those two are the start of something great. The knowledge just dropped into his head."

"That's good," Sheena said. "Now...can you teach me this sign language?"

"We have a few days, don't we?"

Ribs made another obscure set of gestures. Zelos translated. "Let's do another blood maker on Lloyd tomorrow. Ribs says he will be able to handle it then."

They fed Lloyd, then themselves, and then they went to bed.

The next day, the doctor insisted on watching the healing. Anthony stood by him.

It went off without a hitch. Afterwards, the doctor leaned over to Anthony. "Could you do that, Anthony?" he whispered.

Anthony nodded confidently.

The doctor almost purred. "_Goood_."

The two left the room.

"That makes me sick," Zelos said.

"What does?" Sheena asked, looking up from watching Lloyd.

"It took me three days to understand what Ribs was getting at, and Anthony picks it up after seeing me do it twice."

Ribs moved his hands in a few signs.

"Thanks a lot," Zelos said sourly.

"What did he say?" Sheena asked.

Zelos looked at Ribs. "I suppose you'd write it down and show it to her if I refused to tell her?"

Grinning as always, Ribs nodded.

Zelos scowled at the skeleton. "He said I'm better at taking people apart than I am at putting them back together."

Sheena burst out laughing.

There was laughter followed by coughing from the bed. Lloyd opened his eyes and grinned. "Good one, Ribs."


	5. Don't worry us like that!

Chapter Five: LLOYD, YOU IDIOT! DON'T WORRY US LIKE THAT!

**Sheena gasped. "Lloyd!"**

She practically dived at him. Her hug made him wince.

"Ow...hey, Sheena, that hurts!" Further protests were cut short by her kiss.

It ended fairly soon. Lloyd blushed to the roots of his spiky hair. "Sheena, there's people watching!"

She grinned at him. "How do you feel?" She asked.

He coughed, still blushing. "Stiff. Sore. Like I need a bath. And some clothes."

"We'll fix that," Zelos promised, grinning. He glanced at Lloyd's favorite suit of clothes. The whole front of the shirt was a reddish-brown—and contrasted with the bright red. Zelos had experimented cautiously, and come to the conclusion that the shirt Lloyd, if he caught up with Joseph, could beat the man to death with his shirt. It didn't bend. _At all_. It definitely needed special treatment. And maybe some oil and a match.

Lloyd was examining his bare chest. A long scar, thin but vividly purple, was all he had of the wound that had nearly killed him. He traced the length of it from near his left shoulder to by his right hip. "Damn...Joseph got me bad," he lamented. He looked up. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Er...ten days," Sheena said.

"WHAT?" Lloyd sat up—then immediately sank back down from vertigo.

Sheena rattled off how the days had been spent. "Two and three-quarter days getting here, seven days spent in this inn. Call it ten days"  
He lay back. "Get my clothes, and step outside. We've got to get to the King."

Ribs stood up sharply, and made a cutting motion with one hand. He made several imperious gestures. Zelos nodded. "Right."

"What's that mean?" Lloyd said suspiciously?

"You know about the sign language?"

"Yeah. I remember half-listening to you talk while you two worked it out. I don't know what means what, though. Now—what did he say?"

"He said you're staying in bed if we have to strap you down."

Lloyd groaned.

The next few days were beyond painful for him. He was as weak as a limp noodle, so he couldn't get out and about on his own. He might have had a chance persuading Sheena to walk him around, but she had to leave the next day to escort the doctor back to Flanoir. She was gone for two days. That left Zelos, the half-elf Anthony, and Ribs to keep an eye on Lloyd.

Lloyd was an outdoors sort of person. The fact was being confined to a bed was sheer torture for him. He begged. He pleaded. He cajoled. He yelled. No matter what he said, though, not one of the three made a move to let him up to walk around.

There were good points, though. Zelos's skills in the kitchen had improved in the past couple of years, and Anthony was more than competent, if not as good as Genis. Lloyd was getting three very acceptable meals a days. No one thought of asking Ribs to cook.

The conversation wasn't bad, either. Zelos was willing to talk about nothing much, and some talk with Anthony revealed that he had traded mailing addresses with the doctor—who would be in touch with arrangements for Anthony's apprenticeship.

Ribs didn't talk much on his shift for Lloyd-sitting. At first, he'd offered to teach Lloyd the rudiments of the sign language. Lloyd had sulkily refused, and Ribs had promptly turned his chair around and began sketching the view from the windows. After some three hours of his eight-hour shift, he'd offered again. Lloyd had accepted all too gladly.

On the morning of the second full day of Lloyd being awake, Sheena came back, and things were slightly better for Lloyd.

However, the doctor and the three conspirators had gotten to her first, and impressed her with the need for Lloyd to stay in bed. This ruined Lloyd's chances of getting out in the sunshine.

At least he could talk openly with her—something he couldn't do with the other three. It sort of helped if he kept telling himself that.

"_Why_ did you keep fighting after getting sliced open like that?" She was in full voice.

The trio, and even the innkeeper, were listening outside the door—they respected the couple's right to private discussion, but also satisfied a need to find out exactly _why _he'd done that, too.

"It didn't hurt! I thought it was a scratch!"

"That scratched almost _killed_ you, Lloyd! Do you know what I'd feel like if you died?"

"_Please_, Sheena!"

"Don't 'please, Sheena' me! How could you get gutted and not realize it?"  
"I didn't _get_ gutted, Sheena!"

"_It was close enough for me_!"

"It really didn't hurt, Sheena! I didn't know!"

"Hmph."

Unknowingly, Lloyd said the right thing. "Sheena, I'm sorry if I made you worry while I was sick. I love you, and making you worried sick like that is the last thing I'd willingly do. I _had_ to try to get Joseph, and I truly, honestly, did not have the slightest inkling that I'd been hurt that badly. I'll be more careful from now on."

"Okay, Lloyd. But don't think I've forgotten this!"

Out in the hall, the innkeeper gave a great sniff. "They love each other very much, don't they?"

Zelos nodded.

"D'you think they'll get married?"

Zelos was good at math—especially relationship odds. He waved a hand in the flat rocking motion of one hazarding an informed guess. "I give it three to one, in favor of marriage."

The innkeeper sniffed again. "Makes me glad I've been married for twenty years and we've gotten past all that. I've got to go now. I hope they're happy together." He went down the hallway, wiping his eyes.

Regal arrived the next day. He had people with him. One had bluish-silver hair, one had white-silver hair, one had pink hair.

Regal came into Lloyd's room. Zelos was on Lloyd duty that morning. He stood up. "Regal!"

Lloyd had been resting. He opened his eyes. "Hey! Mr. President is back!" he said, looking at Regal's somewhat finery

Regal bowed his head, and lifted his wrists. They had been bound together with rope.

"What did you do, Regal?" Lloyd demanded, sitting up quickly.

"Hmph." Regal didn't meet his gaze. A couple of tears trailed down his cheeks.

Lloyd had a catch in his voice. "You promised you'd never bind your hands again, Regal. Why this?"

Raine and Presea came in the door, moving around from behind Regal. Raine looked much the same, but Presea was taller, and her former cuteness was developing into a definite degree of beauty. "I know why he wears the bonds, Lloyd," Raine said gravely.

Lloyd looked at the three sad faces. "Where's Genis?" he asked sharply.

All three bowed their heads.

"No...Regal...you didn't..." Lloyd almost sobbed. "What did you do to Genis?"

Someone out in the hall started cracking up.

Regal snorted—then starting laughing great belly laughs. Raine collapsed into a chair, cackling. Even Presea was bent double, howling.

"What?" Lloyd looked bewildered.

Regal moved aside from where he'd been blocking Lloyd's view of the doorway.

Genis was leaning against the door frame, his forearm against the wood and his face in the crook of his elbow.

Lloyd spluttered for a moment, then went quiet.

His roar of **"WHAT THE HELL?"** startled everyone in New Ozette—and a traveler coming up the road, three hundred yards away, and scared away birds for twice that distance.

"Genis!" he screamed. "I'll kill you! Give me a sword, Zelos!" He held out a hand.

Zelos was paying no attention. Lloyd looked around. Everyone was laughing at the memory of Lloyd's expression. Sharp, cracking sounds from the hallway suggested Ribs was slapping his knee.

"It's not funny! I'll get you for this, Genis!"

Genis was calming down. "Why? It was Regal's idea." His voice was quite a bit different from what it had been the last time Lloyd had seen him.

Lloyd was stunned. "WHAT?"

"Yeah, you had Regal so worried about you that his voice went squeaky when he told us the news. After he heard you would all right, he wanted to get you back."

Regal wiped away a couple of tears. "We got here this morning and rehearsed. Sheena got me the rope." He held out his tied wrists. "Would somebody oblige me?"

Presea slipped a knife out of her belt and cut the rope. Luckily, she had the knife sheathed again before she remembered Lloyd's expression and broke into giggles.

Regal rubbed his at his wrists. He had huge calluses circling them, a memento of his years of wearing the shackles. He grinned at Lloyd. "I consider us to be even."

"Did I really worry you guys that much?" Lloyd asked.

They were calming down. Raine sat down on Lloyd's bed. "Yes, you did, Lloyd."

"I'm sorry, guys," he said, looking around at his friends. Ribs had come in. The room was almost packed with people who cared about him.

He noticed something. "Hey. Where's Colette?"

Sheena grinned. "As far as we know, she's in Iselia. The next time you see her we'll let you tell her about your little touch with death yourself."

Lloyd groaned.

"Anyway, we've decided to let you go out and about a little bit, " Sheena said. "The doctor said you needed to start moving around after a few days, at the rate you heal."

Lloyd whooped. _At last! _

"Get out of here. Let me get dressed!" he yelled.

Zelos went into the hallway and came back with a bathrobe. "You need a bath first, O Mighty Swordsman Eternal. We'll fix it up for you, and you can bathe yourself—if you can manage it."

"Thanks," Lloyd said sourly.

It didn't go too badly. They ran the water for him, helped him into the bathhouse, and left him to it.

He had to admit he felt better afterwards.

While Lloyd was in the tub, there was a knock on the door of the inn's bathhouse. "Your clothes are on the doorknob, Lloyd," Zelos called through the door.

"Thanks!" Lloyd called back.

His favorite clothes were temporarily unwearable—maybe permanently, unless they could find a skilled hand with a needle and a professional laundry service with a strong stomach. The suit of clothes they left him was the pirate outfit he'd gotten from Aifread—minus the eyepatch.

He put it on and tottered out and down the hallway.

In his room, every available surface had at least one person on it—the bed, the chairs, the table, the floor.

They all cheered when he came in through the door.

He grinned at them. "I should be fine in a couple of days."

Zelos and Sheena looked at Ribs. He nodded. He made a set of gestures. Lloyd could follow it, except for the last word. _We must get him into_—then that unrecognizable gesture.

Zelos grinned. "Sounds like a job for Regal."

"What is?" Lloyd asked suspiciously.

Ribs just gave him a thumbs-up.

Lloyd looked around. He laid eyes on Genis, and almost lost his balance.

He'd been distraught and teary-eyed when the four had sprung the joke on him. Now Lloyd could see him clearly.

Genis was taller now—very nearly as tall as Lloyd. His silver-white hair was worn long. He had filled out somewhat, though he was still lean—but now it was in an athletic way. He wasn't wearing the blue-and-white shirt-and-shorts that had survived their journey two years earlier—just serviceable travel clothes and a cloak. Lloyd was amazed. His friend was gorgeous--for a guy. He looked over, and caught Sheena's eye. He jerked his head over in Genis' direction. She nodded, grinned, and winked.

"I'm going outside," Lloyd announced.

Sheena got up quickly. "I'll help you, Lloyd." She took his arm.

He waited until they got outside. They began walking down the curving ramp. Then he said, "Genis! He's! He's!"

"He's growing up, Lloyd." Sheena said gently.

Lloyd nodded. "He's fourteen now. But still, I didn't expect him to look like that."

Sheena nodded. "I know what you mean. He is _fine_."

Lloyd was shocked. "Sheena!"

Sheena grinned. "Just because I don't make an issue of it like Zelos doesn't mean I don't notice when someone's good-looking."

"I just didn't expect you to say it like that," said Lloyd.

"I wanted to try it out for once. It's kinda fun. Maybe that's why Zelos does it so much."

Lloyd hobbled along down the ramp, Sheena supporting him.

Then he said, "What did Ribs means? Get me into what?"

"I'd get a good night's sleep if I were you, Lloyd," She taunted.

"Hmph. Thanks for the hint," he said sourly. He changed the subject. "Did everyone adjust to Ribs?"

"Oh, yeah, they love him. He got Regal laughing, and Raine even kissed him."

"What? _Raine_? How did that happen?"

"Zelos was talking about how he learned how to make somebody replenish their blood from Ribs' teaching, and Raine jumped up. She said, '_You_ taught _Zelos _healing theory?' Zelos and Ribs nodded, and then she nearly burst into tears, grabbed Ribs around the neck, yanked him down, and kissed him on top of his skull."

Lloyd was fascinated. "What did Ribs do?"

"He fell apart and had to reassemble himself."

Lloyd laughed. "Ribs might have hidden depths."

Sheena said seriously, "Zelos probably knows him better than either of us. I've been all over Tethe'alla, and you've been unconscious for most of the time we've known him."

"I've been meaning to ask you something about that." They turned, and walked on the edge of the common ground of the village.

"Shoot."

"I have this vague memory. I keep hearing you say, 'I love you' and feel a kiss."

"I did that," she admitted.

"Thank you," he said a bit thickly.

"Huh?" she said.

"Have you ever been kinda awake, but half-dreaming, and keep running the same thing over and over in your mind?" She nodded. "It was like I was doing that. I can't really remember what it was, but it was freaky. Something about...loneliness. It would stop for a bit when you kissed and talked to me. That helped a lot. Then it stopped, and I remember Zelos' voice." He grinned. "And I found out a couple of nasty jokes."

They walked along for a while, then turned back towards the inn. Sheena didn't know what to say.

"Thanks, Sheena," Lloyd said simply as they went back in.

The next morning—so early it was just barely lightening in the east—someone pounded on Lloyd's door.

Lloyd sat up in his bed. "Wha...?"

Regal came in, wearing his old, comfortable convict clothing. "Good morning, Lloyd."

"What are you doing, Regal?" Lloyd asked suspiciously.

"I have been instructed to strengthen your legs. In thirty seconds you'll be joining me for some all-day exercises.

Lloyd laughed out loud. "In thirty seconds, huh?" he asked when he got control of himself.

"No," Regal said. "In twenty-two seconds."

**Lloyd had always known Regal was a complex man. **Fighter, healer, master chef, businessman, convicted murderer, and Duke were all rolled into one body. Now Lloyd found another facet to the big man's personality: sadistic bastard. He said so, repeatedly.

Regal had helped Lloyd walk for thirty minutes, then declared that the stiffness should be coming out of Lloyd's legs, let him go, and told Lloyd to keep up. Then the big man had legged it away in the dark on those long shanks of his.

Lloyd tried to run after him, but fell repeatedly. Each time, Regal would just appear out of the pre-dawn darkness, pick him up, set him on his feet, and then run off again. His fake jolliness was very irritating.

By true daylight, some two hours later, Lloyd could run on his own power without falling over. He still thought it to be a sublime form of torture, though.

Then it was jumping in one spot for several hundred times.

And even after Lloyd could freely move, Regal still pushed him. They stopped at nine, one, and six to eat a meal, and then it was running again—until ten at night.

It went like that for two days, except that it got easier for Lloyd. Thanks to his Exsphere, his muscles always toned quickly.

At the end of the second day, Lloyd staggered up to the inn. Regal was waiting for him.

"Well done. You should be just about fit, Lloyd."

Lloyd groaned.

Regal went on. "Tomorrow, we're going to Meltokio."

Lloyd smiled. "Great, Regal." He rubbed at his aching legs. "I'm sorry I called you a sadistic bastard so many times."

Regal rubbed at his chin. "Well, I got your legs trained up again. That's what matters."

Lloyd's tendons twanged a quick riff of agony. "Thanks," he said as graciously as he could manage.


	6. Give and Take

Chapter 6: Give and Take

**Lloyd liked New Ozette better than the original town, but it was good to leave. **On his Rheiard, he weaved through the air, racing along for a bit before he settled into the back of the pack. He passed the couple-hour flight by watching the others. Ribs, he noticed, handled a Rheiard very competently.

Then, outside of Meltokio, Sheena aimed her Rheaird at the ground. Puzzled, the rest of them followed her. They were maybe a mile away from the gates of the city.

"What is it, Sheena?" Genis asked.

"We need to do something about Ribs," She said. "The city guards will be very suspicious of a walking skeleton, Ribs. We'll have to disguise you."

Ribs turned his eye-socket gaze on her. _What can we do? _his hands asked.

Zelos translated. "He wants to know what we can do for him."

Presea said thoughtfully, "Zelos, you remember how we disguised you in a mask?"

"Yeah?"

She pulled out a measuring tape. "Let's make an investment."

She, Sheena, and Raine practically frog-marched Ribs out some distance from the men, and then they began measuring what looked to be every dimension of Ribs—the circumference of his head, around his ribcage, height, length of his arms and legs. He even took off his pauldrons so they could get his shoulder measurements.

Eventually, Sheena came back over. "Zelos, do you know where some shops are?"

"No, Sheena, I've lived my whole life in Meltokio without learning where anything is," he said dryly.

She scowled. "Okay, smart mouth, point taken. We need a good tailor, and places where we can get a hat, boots, gloves, and mask."

Zelos gave her several addresses, and Sheena wrote them down on paper she'd gotten from Ribs.

Zelos began fiddling with something around his neck. "Mention my name and tell them I'd take it as a favor if they'd get right on it. Show them this for proof." He finally undid the catch on a necklace, and pulled the fine gold chain from around his neck. There was a large ring hanging from it. "This is my family signet. I don't like wearing it, so I keep it like this." He handed it to her.

"Thanks, Zelos," she said.

Then she walked off towards the city. Ribs, Raine, and Presea came back over.

"Why'd you let them fuss over you like that?" Genis asked the fleshless warrior.

Genis hadn't learned the sign language yet, so Ribs wrote it down instead.

SOMETIMES IT'S NICE TO BE FUSSED OVER.

"We came up with a whole-body covering for the poor diseased man," Raine said.

Lloyd tilted his head, but Zelos caught on. "Ahh. A poor victim of a rare non-contagious disease that left him disfigured, emaciated, and mute." He looked over at Ribs. "Will that work?"

Ribs considered it, then nodded.

"I don't understand," Lloyd admitted.

"It's very simple, Lloyd," Zelos said urbanely. "We're going to lie."

Lloyd made a face. "I don't like it," he said. 'But now that you say that, I can see the point in it."

"Right," Zelos said. "So long as you've got the concept."

It was after dark when Sheena come back carrying a few bags. She set them down. "The rest of the stuff will be ready tomorrow. I threw Zelos' bank account in their faces, and they agreed to have it ready by three tomorrow afternoon." She grinned at Zelos' pained look.

Ribs nodded.

"What's in the bags?" Genis asked.

"This and that," Sheena said evasively. "I don't want to spoil the surprise."

The rest of the day was spent talking, catching up with each other. Ribs almost always had a couple of students of the sign language. He mostly taught them by the simple expedient of showing them a gesture and then writing it its meaning. By the end of the day, he was able to get across some simple concepts.

They went to bed early—except for Ribs, who never slept—and woke up late.

Except for Lloyd.

He woke up just as dawn was starting, and got out of his bedroll. He looked around, and saw Ribs sitting, facing the mountains to the west of Meltokio. His slate was on his knees, with a sheet of paper spread across it.

Lloyd got up, and padded over to sit by the animate. Ribs waved slightly, and then went back to drawing.

Entranced, Lloyd watched the sharp pencil sketch out the shape of the mountains. The skeleton worked swiftly as the dawn crept down the mountains. The illuminated peaks were sharply defined, while the places where twilight lingered were more hazily detailed. And, somehow, Ribs was somehow conveying different colors with pencil gray. He found himself almost _seeing_ the brown of the rock peaks and green of the trees.

Lloyd watched silently until Ribs finished.

"You love drawing, don't you?" he asked.

Ribs rolled up the paper and stowed it away. He nodded. His hands spoke for him.

_It's one of my few pleasures. _

"What are some of the others?"

Ribs thought about it.

_Belonging. Friends. Being trusted, _he finally answered.

"You haven't had much of that, have you?"

_When I became _this_, I started deep in the caverns under the ground. Utterly alone, I fought my way up to here in the sunlight. That has made me grateful to be with friends._

"How long did it take to reach up here?"

Ribs shuddered at the memories, his bones rattling. _Longer than I want to think about_, his hands said.

Lloyd put a hand on the undead's armor-covered shoulder. "You're here with us now, we're both getting closer to achieving our goal, and that's what's important, right?"

Ribs curved his arm around, resting his technically dead hand on Lloyd's living one. Lloyd had noticed Ribs's seeming need for human contact. It was a strange thing to find in someone without an ounce of meat on him.

"I'll go cook breakfast, Ribs," he said, taking away the hand.

Ribs nodded, and sent a silent thank-you out to whoever was listening.

**They passed a lazy day, mostly learning Ribs' sign language. **Finally Sheena stood up. "It's time to get the rest of our thin friend's outfit." She ambled off to the city.

She was back in an hour, carrying three hangers.

_Now_ her and the other two females of the group showed their disguise for Ribs.

It was black. Every bit of it. Shirt, pants, boots, gloves, hat, mask, and greatcoat. Some of it was leather. Ribs didn't have a need for modesty, so he didn't object as they helped him get dressed. The shirt, pants, and solid leather boots went on. Then the long gloves.

Then he shrugged on the heavy dull black leather greatcoat. It was belted at the waist and hung to his shins. He buttoned it carefully. Then he put on the leather mask and Sheena zipped it up the back—it covered his whole skull and even his neck, and had some careful stiffening to give the appearance of a nose and cheeks. Reflective black circles of curved glass covered the eye sockets, and it had no opening for the mouth. Last of all, he put on the wide-brimmed, flat-crowned hat. They buckled his sword belt on him, but couldn't put on his bandoleer and pauldrons.

After he was done, he looked at them. They got the feeling it was a "How do I look?" moment.

Zelos eyed him critically. "All right. This should work. He'll attract attention, but no one will think he's a walking skeleton." He sighed. "It's the best we can do, Bone Man."

Ribs gave him a casual salute. Then he clasped his hands together, and bowed slightly—"Thank you".

**They didn't get far inside the gates before they were spotted and hurried off to the castle—the King was awaiting them, their escorts said.**

One of the escorting nobles was Maline. Lloyd despised her. The first time he'd met her was the same time he'd met Zelos. She had been one of his groupies—a beautiful lady in a beautiful dress, with a personality so ugly that they canceled out and she was, on average, a very plain person. Right now she was eyeing Ribs with undisguised interest.

"Lord Zelos," she said in her stuck-up voice. "Who is this mysterious man in black?"

Zelos glanced at Ribs then told the story they'd made up. "He's a poor man who's thrown his lot in with us. He's recently suffered a disease that's left him mute, disfigured, and emaciated."

She drew back from the tall black-clad figure. Zelos nodded. "Oh, don't worry. It's not contagious, and it's run its course." He sighed sadly. "It's a terrible shame, though. He was once so handsome; but the disease has left him without a nose. I understand he's in the market for a wife—he's a Baron with estates around Flanoir." He winked at Ribs.

Ribs put his arm around her shoulders, and as she looked up at him, he grasped the nose of his mask with his free hand, and twisted it upside down. He let go, and it sprang back into shape.

She gasped, and stepped sharply away, and then was lost in the crowd. The sound of vomiting carried over the noise of the crowd.

Raine, who had been watching, laughed. "Ribs, you're a treasure!"

The guards at the front of the castle were outfitted with trumpets. They blew a fanfare as the crowd parted to let the group have a clear shot at the castle.

In the throne room, they were introduced one by one. Ribs was introduced as the Baron of Notnberg, but the others had titles from their bouts in the Coliseum and assorted deeds.

Then the Speech started. The king saddled up his vocabulary, and ran it full tilt over, across, and through everyone in the court. There were a lot of thee's and thou's in there, with words like 'foreasmuch'. Lloyd understood the king was feeling thankful, he got that. And apparently the king was impressed with Lloyd's magnificent bravery. But a lot of the language and phrasing was such was that it was impossible for him to understand exactly _what_ the monarch was saying.

The King was winding down the speech. "And now must I converse with the Swordsman Eternal, the mightiest warrior on life, and discuss with him the due reward of him and his companions."

He stepped off the dais, and moved forward. Zelos nudged Lloyd. "Meet him in the middle!"

Lloyd stepped forward, and stopped in front of the king.

The king winked deliberately. "Nice job," he said without moving his lips. "Let me lean on you."

"What?" Lloyd muttered.

"I've been trying to convince my court I've got a game leg," the king continued. "Just humor me."

Lloyd took the king's arm, and aided the king.

"To the Library," the king muttered.

The King leaned on Lloyd. He limped a bit too realistically to be totally faking.

Lloyd heard a clink. He glanced over his shoulder. The minister and the ever-present guards were following them. He sighed and turned his gaze back. However, at the door to the Library, the guards automatically took posts outside. Cerran didn't even bother to try to go in. Evidently some training had been happening while Lloyd was gone. Lloyd and the king went into the small room; the king left Lloyd and limped to the table, where he sat down. Lloyd sat across from him.

The king took off his crown and rubbed his forehead. "Thank you, Lloyd."

"What? I didn't do anything! Joseph is still alive!"

"Yes, he is. But the last time he was seen, he was with some of his henchmen and buying passage on a ship to Sylvarant."

Lloyd slumped. "I'll have to hunt him down," he said sourly.

"I wouldn't call it a certainty. My people said he kept muttering about retirement." The king smiled. "You got him out of here. For that, I'm grateful. So I'm offering the bridge." He held up a finger. "However, I have to attach a couple of strings."

"What are they, your Majesty?" Lloyd asked with his heart sinking.

"My first condition is that you must find a replacement mechanism for the bridge. You have my permission to do whatever it takes—go anywhere."

"Who will pay for the replacement mechanism?"

"I will, so you have a practically unlimited budget."

"You'd do that for me?"

The king smirked. "As unnatural as it is for a king to say this, I like you, Lloyd. Anyway, the bridge is technically property of the Royal Family, and it's only right for an owner to do necessary maintenance, isn't it?"

Lloyd brightened slightly. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually. You must have a workable schematic for the mechanism before I'll shut down the bridge. It can't be closed indefinitely."

"Why?" Lloyd asked. "I know you're on my side. Why this?"

"My hands are tied. I support you in what ways I can, but I _need_ the revenue that goes across that bridge."

"All right," Lloyd conceded.

The king nodded. "Anyway, Lloyd. Since we're alone...why don't you tell me what really happened? Some of the stories we got said you were with a skeleton who slaughtered his way through Joseph's band."

Lloyd was spared from telling the story by a commotion outside. Several voices were raised, shouting things. One by one, they cut off.

Then Cerran, the minister, came in, his pudgy face gray with fright.

"Cerran," the king said sharply. "What are you doing in here? What was that noise?"

Someone came in behind the Minister. He was some inches below six feet, but despite his relative shortness he was solidly built. His skin was almost bronze-colored, and his almond-shaped eyes were brown. His jet black hair was gathered into a topknot that hung down his back. He wore no shirt, but a red sash and a baggy pair of pants that gathered at the ankles.

What were really noticeable were the tattoos. Twined around each forearm was a snakelike dragon, done in bright red, orange, and yellow ink. On the left side of his torso and going over his left shoulder were stylized vines, fluidly curving and curled, in jet black ink. On the vines, however, were highly realistic and brightly colored orchid blossoms. The man bowed. "Forgive me, your Majesty," he said in a medium baritone. "The guards outside would not let me in, so I persuaded them to take a nap." He nudged the Minister. "_Do_ go on and introduce me, Cerran."

In a trembling voice and with his eyes rolling up in his head, Cerran said, "You Majesty, may I present Athan Donu, He who is called Dragon, and Emissary from the Conversant Monastery."

With a grave dignity, the king put his crown back on. "Leave us, Lloyd. I'll see you in the Crimson Chamber in a while." Lloyd noticed his face was pale.


	7. The Next Task

Chapter 7: The Next Task

**Lloyd came out of the Library. **He found the guards unconscious in the hallway. He was troubled about that emissary. Where the hell was the Conversant Monastery, anyway?

He passed through the still-crowded throne room, and found his friends.

They were talking—with each other and with the assorted nobles. Sheena looked up from where she had been quietly conversing with Presea. "Hey, Lloyd. What happened?"

"Somebody knocked out the guards, came in and introduced himself as being from the Conversant Monastery."

Sheena's eyes widened. "The Conversant Monastery? They _never _come out into the world!"

"Am I missing something?"

"You're not from Tethe'alla, so you'd have no chance of hearing about them. The Conversant Monks are supposed to have a hidden monastery somewhere in Tethe'alla. Not even we from Mizuho know where it is. They're _that_ good."

Lloyd was impressed. "I wonder why that monk came here."

"Probably seeking the king's aid on their research." She changed the subject. "What are you supposed to do now?"

Lloyd glanced around. Presea had gone and was talking with Genis. Regal was conversing with a handful of dignified and richly dresses nobles. The others seemed to be busy. "I'm supposed to wait in the Crimson Chamber. Want to come with me?"

"Sure." They left as quietly as they could.

Inside the Crimson Chamber, they sat on the plush couches. Lloyd ran his fingers through his hair. "I still want to know what that monk wanted."

"Don't worry about it," Sheena said.

"What were you and Presea talking about?" he asked to change the subject.

"I was telling her to hang onto Genis." She grinned. "I get the feeling he's going to improve with age."

"Probably," Lloyd agreed. "And what was Ribs doing?"

"Our story worked. He was hanging back in a corner, and people were leaving him alone."

There was a knock at the door, and the king came in, supported by the monk, Athan. Sheena and Lloyd stood up respectfully.

"Your Majesty," Lloyd said. "What is it?"

The king let go of the monk, and limped over to the couch. He sat down. "Athan here has come to me wanting to know something. You are intimately involved in it. Would you explain, Athan?"

The muscled and tattooed young monk bowed. "For four thousand years since the end of the Great War, the brothers and sisters in the Conversant Monastery have been unable to go to Sylvarant—almost as if half the world had vanished. Then two years ago that missing half came back, and we hear that the Great Tree has sprouted again. We looked into it and the masters decided to send me to find out how this occurred. I came to the king, and _he_ told me you are responsible for it, Lloyd."

Lloyd thought about it. "I guess I am. I'd never have been able to do it without my friends, though."

"You did not act alone?"

"Definitely not. I had plenty of help."

"I must ask you for this whole story," Athan said.

Lloyd smiled. "We'd be sitting here a month from now and I'd still be talking. The whole thing took the better part of a year."

"I've got time," the monk said with a faint smile. "I'll follow you around. I can fight and cook, if that makes any difference."

Lloyd grinned. "Cooking? That works. Right, I'm Lloyd Irving, and this is Sheena Fujibayashi, my, er..."

"I'm his girlfriend," Sheena said calmly. "But it's a bit deeper than that."

The king cleared his throat. "Athan, Lloyd is on a quest to rid the world of Exspheres. He has my permission to find plans for a replacement mechanism to the Tethe'alla bridge."

Athan narrowed his almond-shaped eyes. "Lloyd, would you like a trade?"

"Trade what for what?"

"If you will give me the story of how you changed the world, I can get you into the Monastery. We have books and records dating back to well before the Ancient War. A lot of those are about machinery and engineering. I'm sure you could find something to help."

"Sounds good," Lloyd said, trying to hide his eagerness.

The monk looked thoughtful. "If you know any dwarves, you might try them, too. This would be their territory—engineering."

Lloyd's eyes brightened. "Yeah. I could ask Dad!"

Athan looked startled. Sheena explained, "Lloyd was adopted by a dwarf."

"Let get the others," Lloyd said. "They should hear about this."

**They sat around in Zelos' mansion. **When they'd all gotten comfortable, Lloyd stood up. "Right, guys. This is Athan," he indicated the muscular young man. "He's from a monastery and says he'll help me find a replacement for the mechanism off the bridge. We have to tell him how we rejoined the two worlds, though."

Raine looked thoughtful. "Mainly, what we did was to take it one task at a time. First it was releasing the seals, then looking to save Colette, then severing the mana links. One thing led to another until the world was rejoined and Lloyd made Yggdrasill, the New Great Tree, sprout."

Ribs stood up so fast his chair fell over. _What did you say the tree's name is?_ his hands asked.

"Yggdrasill."

Ribs was trembling, making his fleshless bones rattle underneath the various layers of clothes. Athan looked startled.

Zelos, who was sitting next to the monk, leaned over. "He's a walking skeleton," he whispered. "Don't worry, he's one of us." He looked at Ribs. "What's wrong, Bone Man?"

_Give me my slate. I need to write_, his hands said. The slate was gotten out of his pouch and given to him. He picked up a pencil from the table. His normally firm hand was shaking.

HOW DID MITHOS GET THE NEW TREE NAMED AFTER HIM?

"_You knew Mithos?" _Lloyd exclaimed. "How old are you, Ribs?"

I DON'T KNOW. BUT I AM CLOSE TO KNOWING. I REMEMBER AN OPTIMISTIC AND IDEALISTIC YOUNG MAN NAMED MITHOS YGGDRASILL, WHO STOPPED THE GREAT WAR.

_"What?"_ everyone yelled.

Ribs' black-gloved hand shook as he wrote. TAKE ME TO SEE YGGDRASILL THE TREE, I BEG OF YOU. THERE IS SOMETHING THAT MUST BE DONE.


	8. Revelation

Chapter 8: Revelation

**Lloyd looked around at his friends. **"You guys want to come with us? I want to find out what Ribs is talking about."

Regal coughed slightly. "Lloyd, I'm afraid I will not be able to. I have duties to attend to."

Ribs got out his slate and wrote something. Then he turned the slate around. ZELOS SHOULD STAY HERE. HE HAS NOT FULLY RECOVERED FROM SUSTAINING LLOYD He seemed to be getting a grip on himself.

Zelos scowled. "Ribs, I feel fine!"

Ribs shook his head, and wrote on his slate so to get the complicated thought across. YOU CAME CLOSE TO KILLING YOURSELF BY REPEATEDLY HEALING LLOYD. THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO ABOUT IT AT THE TIME, BUT YOU NOW YOU MUST STAY AND RECOVER MORE LIFE FORCE.

Zelos looked shocked. "Why didn't you _say_?"

YOU DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW. IT WORKED OUT FINE--UNLESS YOU DIED LAST NIGHT AND NEGLECTED TO TELL US.

The red-headed man gulped. "Okay. I guess you're right," he said weakly. He paused for a moment, then said, "You have a nasty habit of keeping things to yourself, Ribs."

Lloyd looked around. "Anybody else staying here?"

Sheena smiled at Lloyd. "I'm sticking with you."

Athan shrugged. "I have to follow you to get the story."

Genis, Raine, and Presea looked at each other, then nodded. "We'll come," Raine said.

Lloyd counted them on their fingers. " You, Genis, Raine, Presea, Athan, Ribs, and me. We'll have one Rheaird left."

"Don't worry about that," Sheena said impatiently. "Let's go!"

Lloyd remembered something. "Wait. Zelos, do you know any shop where I can get my clothes fixed and cleaned?" He glanced down at his pirate vest, and longed for his favorite clothes.

Zelos looked at Sheena. "You know that seamstress I sent you to?"

She nodded. "Right," Zelos said. "Take that gross shirt down there. She might be able to fix it."

"C'mon, Lloyd, let's get our stuff and go."

The seven gathered their supplies and packs. Then they left.

Lloyd and Sheena told the rest to wait for them at the gate. The couple went down to the commercial district, to a discreet shop in a select area of the quarter.

The shop's tasteful sign simply said, "Alice's".

Inside, there was a pretty woman behind the counter. "Sheena!" she exclaimed when they entered. "Back so soon?"

"You two know each other?" Lloyd asked.

"You've seen Alice before," Sheena said. "You remember that slum woman Zelos took on to do laundry? We helped her kid find her?"

Lloyd's eyes lit with recognition. "Oh, yeah! It's good to see you, Alice!"

Alice's smile was like the sun coming up. "When Lord Zelos found out how good I was at making clothes, he set me up in this shop. Now I make dresses for most of the noblewomen in Meltokio—even Princess Hilda comes here for dresses."

Surprised, Lloyd threw a quick glance at Sheena. The dark-haired woman grinned and nodded.

Lloyd recovered. "Anyway, I'd like a favor, Alice." He held up his cut and crusted red shirt. "Could you fix this and clean it up?"

She took the shirt—it was as stiff as a board—and thumped the front of it. Her breath hissed in her teeth and she sucked at her knuckles. "Ow!" She looked at him. "I can't promise anything, Mr. Irving, but I can try."

"That's all I can ask," Lloyd said.

They caught up to the others outside the city gate.

"Are you ready, guys?" Lloyd asked.

Genis nodded. "Let's go already!"

**The flight was delayed a little while—Ribs wanted to get out of his disguise. **After they got the clothes into the Wing Pack, they took off.

It took them several hours to the Holy Ground of Kharlan. Lloyd had been surprised to find that the Holy Ground had been on the Tethe'alla side.

Ribs made no move to communicate during the flight, and instead concentrated on getting where he needed to go. Athan learned to handle a Rheiard quickly—they were easy to operate, at least.

It was well into the night when they landed at the ruins of the Tower of Salvation. The half-moon still lit the ground brightly.

Ribs got off his Rheiard, and walked forward to examine Yggdrasill, the sapling of the Great Tree. As the others got the Rheiards in the Wing Pack, he knelt over the small tree. It was about three feet tall now—puny compared the vision Lloyd and Colette had been granted of it, but growing taller every year.

A soft voice came from off to his side. "Welcome, Moirus."  
Ribs looked up, into the serene features of Martel, the keeper of the Tree, as she advanced towards him.

As he stared at her beautiful face, the memories exploded in his mind like a nova. He remembered all of it—his name, his life, and his death. He bowed his faced into his hands, mentally weeping as the shame filled him.

He sensed on a hand on his shoulder. "Do not grieve, Moirus. Martel forgave you even as she died." He looked up into her face, wondering.

She smiled. "Yes, Moirus. I can hear your thoughts. Do you wish to tell your friends your story, or shall I?"

The others noticed Martel with the one who had been Moirus. They came up. "What's happening?" Lloyd asked.

Ribs stood up. He waved them in closer, and squared his shoulders. He produced his slate—this was too complicated for the sign language. He wrote heavily and darkly on the slate's pale surface.

I REMEMBER ALL OF IT.

The six came closer to peer at the writing in the moonlight—then a gentle light suffused the area. Ribs sensed it was from Martel.

"What, Ribs?" Lloyd asked.

He erased, and wrote more. MY NAME WAS MOIRUS THU RADLON. I WAS A GENERAL OF THE SYLVARANT ARMY DURING WHAT YOU CALL THE ANCIENT WAR.

He erased, and wrote once more. I FELT SYLVARANT HAD BEEN HUMILIATED BY THE TREATY THAT CONCLUDED THE WAR. PRIDEFUL, I WAS SURE SYLVARANT WOULD HAVE WON IF IT HAD CONTINUED.

"What did you do after the war ended, Ribs?" Sheena asked.

Ribs, who had once been a man named Moirus, glanced at Martel, asking if it was necessary. She nodded. "You must," she said.

His hand shook as he wrote his next statement.

I HATED MITHOS FOR WHAT WAS, IN MY EYES, THE SHAMING OF MY COUNTRY. I DECIDED TO STRIKE BACK AT HIM THE BEST WAY I KNEW.

"How?" Lloyd asked.

I FOUND HIM AND HIS COMPANIONS KRATOS, MARTEL, AND YUAN ON THE ROAD. I TALKED FOR A WHILE TO SET THEM AT THEIR EASE. WHEN THEY RELAXED, I DREW MY SWORD AND SLEW MARTEL.

Sheena's eyes widened. Lloyd stared as the blood drained out of his face, making him even paler in the soft light. Various degrees of shock were on the faces of the others—except for Athan, who looked confused.

The one who had been named Moirus thu Radlon sent a pleading thought out to the goddess. She responded by continuing the tale.

"It was the death of his sister that drove Mithos Yggdrasill insane—which led to the separation of the worlds, the creation of Cruxis, and flourishing and declining cycles, and the mass production of Exspheres. That system of events was not meant to be, and had to be corrected. Moirus, as the one who set off the chain of the events, must do what he can to correct it."

He who had been Moirus felt he could continue now. MY CRIME WAS THE INDIRECT CAUSE OF FOUR THOUSAND YEARS OF UNTOLD SUFFERING. I AM HERE TO HELP ERASE WHAT I CAUSED TO BE.

Lloyd, his voice shaking, asked, "How long have you been like this, Ribs?"

I WAS KILLED BY YUAN AND KRATOS IMMEDIATELY AFTER I SLEW MARTEL. I THINK IT WAS A YEAR LATER WHEN I WAS SET OUT INTO THE WORLD AS I AM NOW.

"Where did you start?" Lloyd asked.

I TOLD YOU SOME OF IT. I WAS MILES BENEATH THE SURFACE OF TETHE'ALLA, OUTSIDE OF A GATE TO THE UNDERWORLD. ALONE, WITH NO MEMORIES OF WHO I WAS BUT WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD AND A DREADFUL COMPULSION, I FOUGHT MY WAY UP TO THE SURFACE, ARMED WITH MY SWORD, MY SHIELD, AND MY MAGIC.

"How long did it take you to reach here?"

I FINALLY SAW SUNLIGHT AGAIN THREE YEARS AGO.

Their minds shuddered from the length of time implied in that statement.

Athan looked troubled. "Can we trust him?" He asked.

The one who had been Moirus watched Lloyd and Sheena look at each other. "We can, Athan," Lloyd said. "Moir—...Ribs made a sacred oath swearing to help us. He used magic to reinforce it, and if he breaks his word, his spine will be destroyed and his soul will be caught in a kind of limbo—forever." He looked back at the one who had been Moirus. "This changes things, but we can still trust him."

The skeleton nodded and bowed his thanks.

"Is there anything else we should know?"

The undead man cast a questioning thought at Martel.

"There will be one other who will join you. She will aid you in your quest," the green-haired goddess said. "Watch for her."

Lloyd turned back to Rib. "Well, Moirus—"

Ribs held up a hand to interrupt and then wrote something.

I STILL PREFER TO BE CALLED RIBS.

"Okay, Ribs. Let's stop here for the night, so we can talk."


	9. Homecoming

Chapter Nine: Homecoming

**They made camp a respectful distance from the tree Yggdrasill.** The shock of Ribs' identity hadn't worn off yet, and they were all quiet. Finally, Ribs asked with his hands. _What will you do with me?_

"I'm not sure," Lloyd said. "This is a shock, Ribs. This is almost as bad as when we found out Yggdrasill's identity."

"Worse than that," Sheena said. "I'm sorry, Ribs, but we'd never have imagined you had done that."

_Would it help to know that I am not the same person as I was when I murdered Martel?_

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.

_Death improved me, I'm ashamed to say. As a living man, I was arrogant, vengeful, and too proud for my own good. I am ashamed of my memories from when I was alive. It's almost like it was someone else who did those things and I just see what he saw and know what he thought._

"Are you sorry for it?"

_Yes_. The gesture was quite emphatic. _I cannot express the loathing I have for what I once was._ His fists clenched for a moment. _However, I must do my task. I wish to be done with this, and I cannot sit and hate a man who's been dead for thousands of years—even if he was myself. I must do my task_

Lloyd studied the skeletal undead for a moment. "Ribs, I know you're right. I want to know something, though—what will happen after we rid the world of Exspheres?"

_I will be allowed to die._

**That night, Lloyd had the dream again.**

_**He was in a dark place, he could see that. **But it made no difference—dark or light, he saw what was there. He stood up, and raised his darkness-penetrating gaze to a purplish swirl in the air. The Voice thundered in his head._

_**GO TO THE SURFACE.**_

_And something came out and gave him a sword belt, a sheathed sword, and a shield. The shield was as black as night, as smooth as a dark mirror. His arms were smooth white bone as he buckled the belt on. He drew his sword and felt its balance. The slick blade was like a shadow. He sheathed it._

_Then the Voice came again._

_**ACCOMPLISH THY TASK.**_

_And he'd tried to say, "Yes," but what he needed to speak was not there. His jaw moved, and he tried to do the movements to talk, but there was nothing to respond._

_And the Voice came a third time._

_**GO!**_

_And his fleshless legs worked almost under their own power, turned him around and walked him out of the lightless cavern where he could still see clearly._

**Lloyd came around briefly, in a state nearing horror. **He was awake only for a moment and, afterwards, remembered the dreams but not the awakenings.

_**He walked through the lightless caverns where he could see it all. **Sometimes Things attacked him, but he killed them every time. And all the while, he wondered what to do when he met somebody on the surface. It wouldn't be long before he found the surface. It couldn't be. He'd been walking so long his bones were yellowish-white, so it couldn't be long._

_It couldn't be long._

**Lloyd awoke, shuddering. **_Horrible_, he thought, before sleep claimed him again.

_**Almost everything kept out of his way, afraid to challenge him. **What he could not cut, he burned or froze or made the air currents rip it to pieces. What could withstand his magic, he slew with his sword. What was faster, he tricked into coming near. What was stronger, he outsmarted. What was smarter, he overcame with strength. Soon, everything feared him—the Thing that flew, the Thing that screamed, the Thing that moved unseen. Their fear was a kind of respect. But ever so often, a brash Thing would challenge him, And then he'd take his chipped sword in his yellow-boned grip, and slay the upstart._

_He didn't need the respect, but it made his constant traveling easier as the news ran ahead of him._

**Lloyd stirred, but didn't quite awaken, and fell into another dream.**

_**The loneliness. **That's what bothered him. He could remember there were other people. He even remembered the shape of the land. He knew about towns and cultures. But he couldn't remember anything he'd done before he'd heard the Voice. He couldn't remember anybody. He knew he was dead—the lack of meat on him proved that. But he wanted to be around other people._

_Maybe then he could get his memories back._

**Dawn was staining the sky as Lloyd opened his eyes for a moment, then closed them again.**

_**He could see the surroundings lightening, and picked up his pace. **He sensed the air moving, and ran, his brownish-yellow bones rattling from his stride._

_And then he was out of the caverns, in the sunlight. Off in the distance, a tower stood unimaginably high. He would be with people again. He paused as he realized he needed some way to communicate. He looked around, and his gaze fell on the answer._

_An exposed outcrop of slate, showing the fractured layers, stuck out of the ground. He drew his sword, and gave a few careful chops, then worked loose a piece._

_It looked to be the right size. He could find something to write with later._

**Lloyd woke up. **He remembered what seemed like every detail. He got up, feeling very somber. He went and found Ribs sketching the sunrise.

"Good morning," Lloyd said softly.

Ribs laid down his pencil, and nodded at Lloyd.

"I had some dreams last night."

_She said you would._ Ribs's hands said.

"Who did?"  
Ribs pointed towards the sunrise. Lloyd looked, and saw Martel standing on a piece of the fallen Tower after a moment. She was facing the sun.

Lloyd nodded. "Ah." He was quiet for a moment. "I know what you went through to get up here."

Ribs nodded, but didn't comment.

"For what it's worth, I think you've gone a long way towards paying for killing Martel. You've got the suffering part over with, Ribs."

Ribs still made no move to communicate, but his nod seemed a bit grateful.

"I guess you've forgiven him?" A deep voice said behind them.

Lloyd turned around to face the monk. He glared at the tattooed fighter angrily. "Of course I have!"

Athan held up his hands. "I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm just asking if you had. I don't know what you've gone through with him, but it _is_ fairly shocking to find one of your companions is more than four thousands years old."

Lloyd smiled at a thought. "Yes, well, I've been through this kind of thing before."

"Is it part of that story you keep hinting at?"

Lloyd grinned. "Yes, it is."

"You've got to fill me in, sometime."

Lloyd grinned wider. "I'll start telling the story if you'll cook breakfast."

"I consider that a fair trade."

So Lloyd started telling the story—from when he'd been awoken by a thrown eraser in the Iselia school. Ribs listened while he drew, and Athan listened while he cooked a breakfast of seasoned noodles and some kind of spiced meat. It smelled wonderful.

In fact, it was the smell that woke the others. They got up, and sat around, and listened as well.

"Right, so Genis and I went up onto the cliff, and we decided to attack them with magic and then I'd draw off the guards to let him get away. Genis threw fireballs at them, and dropped down, and I jumped along the top of the gate and started running. The guards were coming after me, but Genis tripped and went 'OW!' and the guards heard, and then I had to fight and kill them..."

"I don't want to interrupt, Lloyd, but breakfast is ready," Athan said.

Lloyd paused long enough to down a bowl of the noodles and meat in broth. They were very good, he noticed.

He went on, and eventually repeated the conversation between him and Colette on the terrace at Dirk's house, almost verbatim. Finally, he stopped. "I think that's enough for one day. Let's leave ourselves something to do at camp in the future."

They bid farewell to Martel, and Genis even poured a cup of water around Yggdrasill. As he explained, he didn't know if it would help, but it couldn't hurt, either.

They left, heading for Altessa's house, near New Ozette. It was only ten minutes until they reached it.

They dismounted, and put away the Rheiards. Then Lloyd went up and knocked on the door set into the stone of the cliff.

A long moment passed, then the door opened.

Altessa, fierce, gray-bearded and bald, stood there. "What?" he demanded in his dark-sounding, rocky voice. He softened when he saw Lloyd. "Oh. Come in, Lloyd."

He moved into the dimness of the house. Lloyd came in to find him flipping bacon on his small stove.

"Altessa," Lloyd began. "I've come to ask a favor."

"Go on," Altessa said.

"We need to find a new drawbridge mechanism for the Tethe'alla Bridge. Could you help?"

"I can't help you make one," Altessa said shortly. "I'm a blacksmith and craftsman, not an engineer."

Lloyd stood with his heart sinking. Altessa went on. "If you're feeling persuasive, you could go to the Toize Valley Mine and then to Moria and ask the engineers there if they'll help."

"Moria? The dwarf city?"

The gray-bearded dwarf nodded. "But you're not part of a dwarf clan, so it's probably pointless."

"But my dad's a dwarf!"

Altessa raised his huge eyebrows. "What?"

"I was adopted by Dirk Irving, a dwarven blacksmith—like you are."

Altessa thought it over. "The Irvings are an important clan. It might work. Has he taught you the dwarven vows?"

Lloyd nodded. "I know more than a hundred and twenty-five of them."

"You have a good chance of it," Altessa conceded. "But you should ask your father about it. He might have had a reason for leaving the other dwarves."

"Thanks, Altessa," Lloyd turned to leave.

"Why don't all of you stay for breakfast?" Altessa said.

"Thank you, but we ate before we flew over here."

"Right. I'll see you, then."

Outside, his friends were sitting on various rocks. Genis looked up at him. "What did he say?" he asked in that light baritone of his.

"He said we'll probably have to go to Moria if we want help from the dwarves."

Genis groaned. Raine, however, looked thoughtful. "We could go down there..."

Lloyd nodded. "We might do that. I'm a dwarf by adoption, so Altessa said they'll probably accept me."

Raine's eyes lit up at the thought of seeing the dwarf city. "Oh, that's wonderful, Lloyd!"

"I want to go see Dad, first."

"It's going to take us hours to get there," Sheena said.

"We'd better get started, then," Lloyd said.

They stopped for lunch on one of the islands east of Altamira. Athan volunteered to cook again; the monk seemed to enjoy it.

It was while they were waiting for the food to be ready that they heard the inhuman screams. They scrambled up, and saw the familiar winged shapes coming at them.

The five young dragons approached the island, then began circling. Lloyd fumbled his swords out. Genis came up beside him, holding not a kendama, but a silvery-looking whip—Mythril metal, Lloyd thought.

"You don't use a kendama now?" Lloyd asked.

Genis shook his head, watching the circling dragons.

Sheena stood, holding her cards. Athan stood up, stretching, but had no weapon. Ribs drew his sword and got his shield out. Presea was wrestling with the wing pack, trying to get her axe out. Raine didn't need really her rods to work magic.

They drew into a circle, facing outwards. The dragons weren't infants, but they were a long way from being even adolescent. Good, Lloyd thought. Beside him, Ribs was moving his hands—casting a spell.

Then several pointed icicles came out from just in front of him apparently aimed between two dragons.

But as Lloyd watched, a dragon moved right in the path of the frozen projectiles of the Freeze Lancer. It shrieked as the cones shattered against its armored hide, battering it. One, however, stuck into the heavy meat of its haunch. It tumbled down, trailing blackish blood. It turned itself so it landed upright, and snaked its head around and pulled out the pointed piece of ice stuck into its leg. It snapped the icicle between its jaws.

It looked around to see Athan running to it. The monk dodged a snap from those pointed teeth and jumped. The young dragon felt a weight land on its back—and then something was pulling its wing into an outstretched position.

Lloyd watched the monk's knotted muscles tense and ripple as he pulled the wing up. Then he let go with one hand, drew back, and punched the bone that provided the frame of the wing.

The crack of bone snapping was deafening. The dragon threw back its head and screamed.

Lloyd tore his eyes from the scene, to see a dragon swooping down at him.

He felt someone push him out of the way of the outreaching claws, and then he saw a flash of silver.

He looked up as he heard the whip-crack to see a rip appear in the beast's wing membrane. It screamed and flapped—which only tore the membrane further. It, too, tumbled out of the air.

Lloyd recovered, and ran to the downed beast. The sound of rattling bones announced Ribs was right behind him. "Keep its attention!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Ribs sped up, and skidded to a halt right in front of the dragon. Lloyd moved around to its side and began hacking at the hollow between two of its protruding ribs. That was his dragon-fighting strategy—once he got through the armored hide, he'd stick a sword into its lungs.

He glanced over once, to see the toothy maw snap at Ribs, and Ribs easily step out of the way. The stupid thing was too occupied with what was in front of it to notice Lloyd digging through its scales.

Behind him, another inhuman shriek told him another dragon was out of the air, but he didn't look to see. He heard another loud crack, and saw Athan run by, his face intent.

A wash of blackish, sticky blood told him he'd broken through the hide. Snarling, he drove the Vorpal sword into the hole he'd made between two ribs.

The young dragon stiffened, and tried to scream—but all that came out was a gurgle and a great gout of blood. It collapsed.

Lloyd pulled his ice blade out and turned. He saw another dragon crash into the ground—with the exceptional misfortune to land near Presea, who'd finally gotten out the Gaia Cleaver.

She raised the heavy axe, and chopped down, just behind the dragon's head. It didn't cut into the dragon's armored scales—but the great force broke its neck.

The last dragon still flying wheeled, and turned to speed off over the water. Genis stepped forward, and raised a hand, palm outwards. He began a chant, and the words he said sounded like rocks cracking. Then there was a sound like a cannon, and a ball of crackling white mana left his palm, the recoil knocking him back. The ball raced after the speeding dragon, disappearing into the distance.

A couple of seconds later, it must have caught up to the dragon. An explosion like another sun filled the air with searing white light. When it faded, there was no hint that there'd been a dragon there.

A rustling sound drew their attention. They turned to see Athan standing on the back of the last dragon. The odd angles of its wings and a leg told them the tattooed man had broken some choice limbs, and now the powerful monk stood on its back, with its head in what looked for all the world like a headlock and his right arm passing around its head to grip its left horn. His sweating face oddly expressionless, he began turning the dragon's head while it tried to resist.

The doomed creature screamed at the monk's knotted arms forced its skull through a hundred and eighty degrees. Then the monk let go.

Its head grotesquely twisted upside-down, the dragon struggled and twitched for a moment—then died. Athan fell off as it collapsed.

As one person, the rest of the group turned to look at the other dragon Athan had fought. Its head was upside-down, as well. They went back to staring at him.

The monk got up, and brushed himself off. "I hate having to do that," he commented calmly.

They still stared at him. He appeared not to notice. He ambled over to the fire, and looked into the pot. "My noodles burned," he lamented.

**They watched Genis going from corpse to corpse, setting fire to them.**

"I had no idea he uses a whip now," Lloyd said.

Presea nodded. "He got Altessa to make it for him. It's very dense, apparently, but it's flexible and he can cut a lot of stuff with it."

"Why'd he switch from a kendama?"

"Without you, Zelos, or Regal around, he said we needed a physical fighter other than me." She smiled faintly. "He's gotten very good."

"Where he'd learn that spell he used?" Lloyd asked. The memory of that power shook him.

Raine said, "He learned it after winning the duel with that elf in Heimdall."

Lloyd shuddered. "He's gotten so powerful."

Presea nodded. "He has."

Lloyd turned to Sheena. "I lost track of you in that fight," he said. "What did you do?"

"I knocked down the one Presea killed. It swooped, and I jumped and hit it with Demon Seal."

He grinned. "Good going."

Genis came back after he'd set all the corpses blazing. "All right. Let's go before this place _really_ starts to stink."

They had to clean themselves up first.

**The rest of their flight to the Iselia Peninsula was uneventful. **They landed some way down the road from Dirk's house, and took the opportunity to smarten themselves up. Then they walked.

Athan walked along beside Lloyd. "I had no idea that somebody could do that," Lloyd said to him.

"Do what?"

"Break a dragon's neck like that."

"It's the most effective way if you can't use magic and don't have some kind of edged weapon. It's safer to stick them in the lungs or just use heavy magic.

Lloyd felt a surge of pride that he'd independently discovered one of the most effective ways to kill dragons. "What's your fighting style called, Athan?"

"The Jano-Traubel style,"

Lloyd stumbled, and almost fell. "Traubel style? That's Regal's!"

Athan looked at him oddly. "What?"

"The big man with the blue hair back at Meltokio. His name is Regal Bryant. When he traveled with us on our journey two years ago, his hands were shackled—so he fought only with his legs. He said his style was called the Traubel style."

"How'd he learn it?" the monk asked intently.

"He learned it from an old man named Levin."

Athan grinned wonderingly. "What do you know..."

"What?"  
"Levin is the name of a fighting master from the Conversant Monastery. He left the Monastery years ago to go out in the world."

Lloyd laughed. "Everybody's connected to everybody else, aren't they?"

"That's the truth," Athan agreed.

The path turned around some trees, and Lloyd was looking at the place he called home.

He'd been all over the world—and even off of the world--and he'd only rarely seen anything that neared the beauty of Dirk's simple house. He smiled, and walked across the little bridge laid over the brook, and towards his home.


	10. Home Again

Chapter 10: Home Again.

**Lloyd knocked on the door. **"What is it?" a gruff voice shouted from inside.

"Dad! It's me!" Lloyd shouted. "And my friends!"

"Come on in!"

Lloyd waved his friends over and went inside.

Dirk was standing in front of the forge, hammering at a piece of glowing metal.

"Be with yeh in a minute, Lloyd," he said.

They watched as Dirk pounded the metal into shape, stopping every so often to examine it critically. Finally, he plunged it into a water barrel.

He turned to the group. "Good t' see yeh, son." Then his dark eyes focused on Lloyd's clothes.

"What happened to the clothes I made yeh?"

Lloyd turned red. "Well, er...uh...they're at the cleaners, Dad..."

Sheena gave him a hard look. "What is it you said? 'Lying is the first step to the path thievery?' Tell him, Lloyd."

"I wasn't lying!"

"Tell him all of it."

Dirk had noticed the thin purplish scar slanting across his adopted son's chest. "How'd yeh get that, son?" he said abruptly.

Sheena turned to the rest of the group and gave him a bright smile. "Why don't all of you go outside while I tell Dirk about Lloyd's case of bravery?"

Lloyd went to leave, but Sheena grabbed the back of his vest. "No, you stay here!"

They left Lloyd to pay the piper. Genis went to poke around, and found Noishe asleep in his pen. Listening to the murmur of voices with half a pointy ear, he gently woke the arshis up.

The protozoan whined, and licked Genis' face.

Athan turned to the rest of them. "What did Lloyd do?"

Ribs got out his slate. HE BECAME GRAVELY WOUNDED AND KEPT FIGHTING, EVEN AS HE WAS BLEEDING TO DEATH.

Athan winced. "Admirable bravery, but not much common sense. Sheena loves him a lot, doesn't she?"

Raine nodded. "We all love Lloyd in different ways--brother, friend, student, whatever our relationship to him is--but Sheena's probably who he's going to marry—even if he doesn't know it yet."

Genis petted Noishe. "What's wrong? You seem tired."

Noishe whined.

The others listened. They hear the murmur of Sheena's voice, if not her actual words.

Then they heard Dirk roar, "YEH DID WHAT?" followed by Lloyd's voice. He sounded like he was in a hard spot.

Sheena came out, her smile almost benign.

Raine looked at her quizically. "Are you ever going to let him live it down?"

"Of course," Sheena said. "I'll do that right after he tells Colette."

Lloyd hung his head. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"Yeh'd better be," the dwarf growled.

Lloyd looked up. "Hey, where's Noishe?"

Dirk shifted. "Noishe's been actin' kinda funny, son."

Lloyd felt like a bucket of ice had hit his stomach. "What's wrong?"

"He sleeps a lot. And when he's not sleeping, he's eatin'."

A memory surfaced through the worry. "I think I know why," Lloyd said.

"Huh?"

"Remember I told you Noishe isn't a dog? He's some kind of animal that changes as it gets older?"

"Yeah?" Dirk asked.

"Maybe Noishe is getting ready to change."

Dirk thought about it. "Yeh could be right," he conceded.

"Oh, can I tell you why I came?" Lloyd said.

"What's that?"

"I'm thinking of going to the dwarf city, Moria, and Altessa told me to ask you why you live here on the surface."

"I was scoutin' out th' land an' people for the folks back in Ganogrin and--"

"You're not from Moria?"

"No, I'm not. There's more'n one dwarf city, yeh know. Anyway, let me finish. I was in the area, and then I found you and yer mother at the cliff in the forest. She begged me t' take care of you—so I did. And here I still am."

"How do I get to this Ganogrin place?"

"There's a cave in the mountains on the Ossa Trail. There's others ways, but that's how I come up here."

"Alright. I could find that, I guess." Lloyd knelt and hugged his adoptive father. "Thanks, Dad."

"Oh," Dirk grinned behind his beard. "Be sure to go by Iselia. They'll be glad t' see yeh."

**Lloyd went outside to find Raine speculating. **"Those dragons that attacked might have escaped from Rodyle's ranch after Mithos broke the dome. I don't know how many of them there were in there."

"I don't know about that, but they _could_ have been wild," Athan pointed out. "They have huge ranges, and it wasn't too far from some mountains."

Lloyd moved through the group to find Genis scratching Noishe's enormous ears. Genis looked up at him. "I think something's wrong," he said in his baritone voice.

Lloyd petted the arshis. "No, I think he's just getting ready to evolve."

"Really?" Genis asked.

"That's my guess," Lloyd said.

They petted him a final time, and then stood up. "What are we going to do?" Genis asked.

"Let's walk to Iselia. It's a nice day, and it wouldn't hurt to see everyone back in town."

Ribs nodded. _All right. Help me get dressed,_ his hands said.

The walk through the forest was leisurely. The monsters had thinned out in the past couple of years, and the rest ran from the group.

It took them not even thirty minutes to get to the town of Iselia. When they came through the gates, several people hailed them.

"It's Lloyd!"

"Is that Genis?"

"Welcome back, Professor Raine!"

"Mr. Lloyd, that scar looks so cool!

"Why's that man all in black?"

Lloyd looked at Sheena, a bit embarrassed. She wasn't paying attention—she seemed to be listening to an inner voice. "What is it?" he asked her.

"Verius wants to talk to me. If you won't need me, I'll go to the temple and see him."

"Alright," Lloyd said. "I'll see you later."

He watched her walk away, through the paths of the little town. Then he turned back to the crowd. "Does anyone know where Colette is?"

"She's up at her house."

"Right, I'll go see her," he said.

He walked through the town in a reflective daze, his feet on automatic.

He was honest enough with himself to admit he'd probably have ended up with Colette—if he hadn't met Sheena. But, then, if he _hadn't_ met Sheena, Colette would have been lost and the world would still be split. Now that he could be objective about it, he could see he _did_ love Colette—but not romantically. She'd been a sister to him for most of his life.

He was a bit surprised to find that he was at her house already. He knocked on the door, taking a breath.

"Yes?" Frank's deep voice said from within. "Who is it?"

"It's Lloyd," he called.

The door open. Frank stood there, his face beaming. "Welcome, Lloyd."

Lloyd came in, looking around.

"Where's Colette?"

Phaidra was sitting at the table. She smiled at Lloyd. "She's upstairs, reading."

"Thank you, Phaidra," he said.

He went upstairs. "Colette?" he called.

"Lloyd!" a voice exclaimed. He was met at the top of the stairs by a near-bonecrushing hug.

"Ow! Hey! C'mon, that hurts!"

She let go. Lloyd got a good look at her. She was eighteen now, and, if anything, more beautiful than the last time he saw her.

Lloyd rubbed absently at his chest; the scar was a bit tender. She immediately noticed it, and gasped. "Lloyd, what happened?"

"I—er...I..." he fumbled. Then he stopped, took a moment, and started again.

He told how the king had summoned him and requested his aid. He covered their short fight with Ribs. He recounted of the ambush. He finally talked of his fight with Joseph.

"He ran away, his men followed him, Ribs reassembled himself—that's a creepy thing to see—and then I passed out." He took a breath. "It turned out Joseph cut me deeper than I'd thought. Ribs and Sheena and Zelos said I nearly bled to death, and I spent ten days unconscious."

Her eyes filled with tears. Lloyd put an around her shoulders. "I'm still alive, Colette. I'm fine now."

She wiped her eyes. "Why'd you keep fighting after you got hurt? Nobody wants to lose you! Don't do that any more!"

Lloyd smiled slightly. "Everybody keeps telling me that. Especially Sheena."

"How are you doing with her?"

"We're fine. I love her, and she loves me. She does charity work because of her vows, and I help her—when I can."

Colette smiled. "You two make a cute couple."

_Whew_. Lloyd felt that had gone easily, compared to what could have happened.

She went over to the window. "Who's that person in black?"

Lloyd looked out. "That's Ribs."

"Why's he dressed like that?"

"We needed something for him to wear in towns so people wouldn't freak out over a walking skeleton."

"That's smart," she said. "Who's the cute man with the tattoos?"

Lloyd was startled momentarily. "That's Athan. He's a monk from some hidden monastery in Tethe'alla."

She continued watching. "Genis has grown up, hasn't he?"

Lloyd grinned. "Yeah. I was seriously surprised." He changed the subject. "If you want to come with us, we have a spare Rheaird."

"I don't think so, Lloyd," she said seriously. "I've been exceptional for almost all of my life. Now that's over with, and I've been ordinary for the past couple of years. I've gotten to like it. When it's over, come and tell me the whole story, okay?"

Lloyd looked out of the window. His friends were down there. "Well, at least come and say hi to everyone—and meet the two new guys." He'd already decided not to tell her Ribs' identity—a person needed to know how Ribs was now before they could properly understand who he used to be.

Lloyd and Colette came out of the house. Raine and Genis automatically absconded with Colette. Presea turned to Lloyd. "Where's Sheena?" she asked.

"She went to see Verius."

"Who's Verius?" Athan asked curiously.

"He's a summon spirit," Lloyd explained.

The monk's face went white. "What?" he demanded.

"Didn't we ever mention it? Sheena's a summoner."

He shook his head. "Where's she from?" he asked intently.

"She's from Mizuho."

The monk gulped. "When will she be back?"

"I dunno," Lloyd admitted. "Why? What's wrong?"

Athan took a breath to steady himself. "Nothing's wrong. I just need to talk with her when she gets back."

To pass the time, Genis, Raine, Colette, and Lloyd reminisced about life in Iselia. Presea, Ribs, and Athan listened, and laughed at the various trouble Lloyd and Genis had gotten into.

While he talked, Lloyd watched Athan. The tattooed monk had recovered, but seemed a bit nervous.

Finally, the anecdotes stopped, and Colette began talking to Ribs and Athan—with Lloyd as an interpreter for the sign language.

She made a great deal of fuss over Athan. "Your tattoos are so cool!" she said, examining his forearms.

"They're signs of my rank," he said. He held out his arms, and glanced down at the curving vine-pattern going up the left side of his chest and down his back. "Novices have to pass a test before they're accepted to the first rank. Upon achieving the first rank, a novice gets a dragon tattoo. Then another one on the second rank. For the third rank, he gets a flower design." He traced the fluid lines of his own. "My order's a fighting order. The dragons stand for power."

"And the flowers?" Raine asked, her eyes lit up.

"The flowers stand for the wisdom to restrain yourself from using power rashly—control, I guess you could say. I have another rank to go before I'll be able to be considered for Master. At that rank, I'll get another tattoo of flowers. And when I reach master, I'll get a dot on my forehead."

"That's it?" Lloyd asked, dismayed.

The monk smiled a bit sardonically. "Almost everyone says that when they find out." Then his face paled.

Lloyd looked over his shoulder and saw Sheena coming towards them.

The fighting monk politely waited for Colette to greet her and Lloyd to have a quiet conversation with her. Then he cleared his throat. "Sheena?"

She turned to him. "Yes, Athan?"

"I want to talk with you—privately."

She looked at him strangely. "...Alright."


	11. Brother Monk

Chapter 11: Brother Monk

**Lloyd watched the monk lead Sheena off. **"What does he want to say?" he wondered.

**Athan seemed troubled, Sheena thought. **"Let's get out of town—just outside the gates. You should hear this first," he said a bit absently

She looked at him suspiciously. "Alright." They walked slowly, turned the corner, and went out by the school. When they were some ways outside of the town, Athan stopped and turned to her.

"I wouldn't normally ask, but how old are you, Sheena?"

"Twenty-one. How old are _you_?"

"Twenty-six. And you're from Mizuho?"

Where was this leading? "Yeah, I am."

"Were you born there?" he asked intently.

"No, I wasn't, as a matter of fact. Grandpa Igaguri found me in Gaoracchia Forest when I was a baby."

Athan swallowed. "And you're a summoner, right?" he sounded like he was seeking confirmation for something.

"Why are you asking all this?" she demanded.

"Please, Sheena. Can you summon?"

"Yes!" she glared at him. "You didn't answer me! Why are you asking all these questions about me?"

"I know where you come from, Sheena," he said gravely.

"What? How? Where?" she floundered.

He wiped sweat from his face. "As a child, you showed signs of being able to summon—calling birds to you and stuff like that."

Memory flicked a few cards up. "Yeah, I did stuff like that in Mizuho. That's how they found I was a summoner."

"Well, you're mother didn't want you to be a research subject, so she took you to Mizuho—the hidden village."

"You knew my mother?" she exclaimed.

He nodded. "I know her very well. She's my mother, too."

**Lloyd stood around, feeling a little useless. **"I wonder what they're doing," he muttered.

Ribs's hands spoke for him. _They'll let us know if they want to._

**She stared. **"_What?_ You're—you're my _brother_?"

Athan nodded seriously. "Our father was from the Conversant Monastery. He came out into the world to do some errands, and he met our mother. They married, and had me, and then he withdrew from the Order. I remember we traveled around a lot. When I was about five, they had you. One of the first things you did was summon so many birds the sky darkened.

"You did it in the middle of Meltokio—everybody saw it. After that, we had no peace. People kept wanting you—some wanted to study a summoner, and others offered to buy you from us outright.

"We went on the run, and Father eventually died—he had a heart attack. But he'd told Mother what to do with us."

"What was that?" Sheena asked quietly.

"Mother left you at the edge of Gaoracchia Forest, and watched you to keep away the monsters. I went into Mizhuo and led the Chief to you. When he'd gotten to us, Mother talked to him a bit. Then we left."

"You left me?" she flared.

He looked at her sadly. "We had to. Mizuho was a hidden village, and you could grow up there without becoming a prisoner in the Elemental Research Laboratory or somebody's tool—which is what would have happened if we'd been caught."

"What'd you do after you left me?"

"Mother and I traveled to the Conversant Monastery, and asked to join."

"Why couldn't you have brought me there?" she demanded.

"The monks there would have caged you, too, Sheena. We're dedicated to seeking all knowledge, and summoners are very rare. It was our father's wish that you stay away from there."

She nodded grudgingly. "All right."

He took a breath. "You know the story. What are you going to do?"

"I have to think about this and let it sink it, Athan." She softened a bit. "Will do you me a favor?"

"Yes, sister?"

She winced slightly at the form of address, but said nothing. "Don't tell the others yet. When I'm ready, we'll tell them. I want to get to know you first."

He nodded, and patted her shoulder. "Anything you want, Sheena."

She smiled slightly. "Thank you—brother mine."


	12. Travel Plans

Chapter 12: Travel Plans

**Sheena and Athan came back, both of them looking thoughtful. **Lloyd looked at them. "What's up, you two?"

"Nothing," Sheena said smoothly. "Athan wanted to ask me some things, that's all."

Lloyd gave her a sly look. "Do I know you well enough to ask what he asked?"

Sheena grinned back. "Yes, you do. And I know you well enough not to answer."

"Thanks a lot," he said sourly.

Genis looked around at the group. "What will we do now?"

"We could go down to one of the dwarf cities—"

Ribs was shaking his masked and hatted skull emphatically.

"What?" Lloyd asked at the disguised skeleton.

_We are not ready,_ his hands said.

"What?"

_I could survive the journey underground, but there are many terrible things down there. I'm not sure we all would make it_.

Lloyd remembered again the glimpses he'd been granted of Ribs' wanderings. Slight less sure of himself, he said, "_You_ made it from a lot father than we'll have to go."

_I have advantages. I do not sleep. I do not eat. I do not need water, and I do not get tired._ _I'm also a complete bastard_.

"What difference does that make?"

_There are things down there—they fear whatever is a serious threat. With my wits, my skill, and my magic, I was a threat to all of them._

The others were staring at the two. "What's happening?" Colette asked.

"He can't talk, so he uses a sign language—or write," Raine said. "Lloyd, what are you two talking about?"

"At the Holy Ground I had some dreams—I saw what Ribs went through while he was trying to reach the surface. He's saying he could make it, but we couldn't."

"Why?" Genis demanded.

"He says he has advantages."

"He probably does, at that," Raine said.

"Ribs, what would we need for the journey?" Athan asked.

Lloyd translated the gestures. "Food; water; firewood. And he says we'd have to le—really? Why?"

They watched the gestures. Genis and Presea's faces darkened.

"What did he say?" Athan asked impatiently.

"He said we can't bring Genis and Presea because they're too strong. Genis could bring the roof down if he used the wrong spell, and Presea's so strong, she could do the same thing with a missed ax swing."

Raine frowned. "He's right. The roof of a cavern can be unstable. They _could_ collapse a cavern with use in it if they're not careful."

"But we want to go!" Genis whined, reverting to his old habits.

Ribs turned to face him, his long coat rustling. _I'm sorry,_ his hands said. _It's too dangerous—especially if you come with us._

Genis sighed. "You're right." He fiddled with the front of his shirt. "Where will we stay while you're gone?"  
Lloyd looked at Raine. "What about Regal?"  
The half-elf woman nodded. "Yes. Regal's sensible. He'd be a good choice. And we can take time to find him—we don't have a deadline for this."

Lloyd thought of something. "You're right, Professor. We have time to spend. Why don't we take a tour around Sylvarant? I've been in Tethe'alla for months."

Sheena nodded. "I could see how my people are settling in."

Colette said, "You could go see Palmacosta! I hear they're really getting it rebuilt!"

Ribs turned to Lloyd. _We can also take the time to train you, _his hands said. _No offense, but I'm sure there are things you can learn from me._

"Let's take it easy, then. The bridge will be there when we get back," he said. "And I want to see how things are over here."

The route they eventually settled on was to go through Hima, Luin, Mizuho, Asgard, and then Palmacosta—then they could begin seriously preparing for the trip underground.

Finally, they bid farewell to Colette, and left Iselia.

**That evening, Genis cooked beef stew. **As usual for his cooking, it was superb. Athan even had three helpings.

"You're amazing, Genis," the monk said before draining the bowl. "I'm going to have to fix my curry for you sometime."

"You make good curry?" Sheena asked with some interest.

"Some of the best," Athan said smugly.

"We'll have to have a competition, then," the dark-haired woman grinned.

Ribs waved a hand in the firelight to get attention. _Spar with me, Lloyd_, his fleshless hands said.

"What?"

_Let's see if we can improve your skills—you're very good, but you can be better._

"All right." Lloyd got to his feet and drew his swords. Ribs stood up, as well.

_Do your best. I'll make sure I won't hurt you. We'll go until one has the other at his mercy._

"What will you do if I hurt you?"

_That won't happen_.

Ribs drew his sword, and got out his ancient shield.

Athan sat up and began watching with some professional interest as Lloyd took up a stance. Ribs set himself, and began edging forward.

His tempo changed abruptly—he stepped forward, whipping his sword down at Lloyd's knees. Lloyd backed up a step, out of the way of that blade—only to find Ribs continuing his spinning advance and the battered black sword coming at the side of his head.

He barely managed to block—and got punched in the stomach by Ribs' shield-arm. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he heaved, throwing Ribs off balance. The skeleton staggered, and Lloyd came in at him, thinking to score a quick finish.

Ribs, however, got his calcareous feet under him quickly, and whipped his sword left and right, parrying Lloyd's one-two in a split-second. Lloyd tried to swing again, but the fleshless warrior caught it on his shield—and pushed further out, forcing Lloyd's blade out of position. Then his meatless shield-hand grabbed Lloyd's wrist, and yanked Lloyd to him. The sword hand, still clenching the hilt, punched against Lloyd's stomach and the cunning old fighter used to the two points to pivot Lloyd and flip him onto his back.

Lloyd rolled as soon as he hit the ground, coming to his feet even as Ribs' foot slammed down where his chest had been. He dodged around, taking a swing at the skeleton's back—but Ribs sidestepped and turned even as Lloyd started moving. Ribs swung quickly, forcing Lloyd to block with his other blade—and then kicked Lloyd in the shin.

Athan leaned over to Sheena. "He's reacting to Ribs' moves—that's letting Ribs control the fight," he muttered. "But he's doing very well, considering," he added, as Ribs used another grab to throw Lloyd.

Lloyd rolled to his feet, in time to parry a swing from Ribs. Snarling, Lloyd pushed Ribs' sword out of position, then stabbed with both swords at Ribs' torso, forcing Ribs to back up. Lloyd pressed his advantage swinging his red-glowing blade at Ribs. Ribs moved with the blade's path, and Lloyd altered his swing to compensate—

And hit nothing. Ribs was not in front of him. There were gasps, then cheering from his friends. Puzzled, he turned—to find himself staring at the point of Ribs' sword.

"How--? How did you do that?" Lloyd spluttered.

Ribs didn't say anything, and just backed up, and set himself again. He beckoned at Lloyd with his shield-hand again.

Lloyd set his guard again, thinking furiously. He remembered a technique of Regal's where Regal somehow tricked an enemy into thinking he was moving one way—so he could get behind them. That could explain it.

Lloyd came to meet him.

They had three rounds, in all. Lloyd lost all three, but showed he could learn surprisingly quickly. After he'd gotten hit by one of Ribs' tricks once, he would react better a second time—but still probably get hit. By the third time, he could usually avoid it. He even learned to anticipate where Ribs would strike at next—which would be where he was most open. Ribs' wins came harder and took longer each time.

After ten minutes, Lloyd was bruised, sweaty, and aching. However, he was grinning enormously. He sheathed his swords. "You're good, Ribs."

Ribs sheathed his sword and took off his shield. _You learn fast_, he complimented with a certain few waves.

Raine smiled a bit wistfully. "Yes, that's what always frustrated me when I was his teacher. He's not stupid, but he didn't want to learn what I could teach him."

Sheena grinned. "Personally, I'm glad Lloyd neglected his education. You have no idea how easy it is for me to convince him of something—provided I talk fast and throw in words like 'interdigitation'."

"How do you think I got him through the Tower of Salvation when it was just him and me?" Genis grinned. "I just kept talking at him, and he followed."

Lloyd looked at the grinning group sourly. "I'll leave so you all can talk freely."

"No need," Athan said urbanely. "I like seeing your expression when I hear all these interesting facts."

"Thanks a lot, Athan," Lloyd growled.

Athan said innocently. "Well, tell me how it _really _happened, then."

Lloyd took the bait, and began telling how he and Genis had been banished from Iselia.


	13. Partay!

Chapter 13: Par-tay!

**When they woke up the next morning, Genis already had a magnificent breakfast in the works. **After they ate, they broke camp.

Then a debate broke out, polarizing the group into two camps. One group—led by Genis—wanted to use the Rheairds to go around Sylvarant, and the other group—led by Lloyd—wanted to travel on foot and see the sights.

Athan eventually suggested the compromise—cover half the distance on the Rheairds and then walk the rest of the way.

It wasn't too far to Hima, but they held the pact—about halfway there, they landed and got ready to travel.

On the way, Lloyd—with occasional input from the others—continued to fill Athan in on what their journey.

At a certain point, Athan turned to look at Sheena. "You tried to _kill_ that sweet girl back there?"

Sheena shrugged. "It's what I was sent to do." She shuddered briefly. "I don't want to hear this part." She picked up her pace, putting a bit of distance between her and the group.

"Right," Lloyd said. "She runs at Colette—Colette falls and hit a hidden lever. Then a trapdoor opens right under Sheena, and she falls out of sight. Genis figured she wasn't dead, and I said I felt sorry for her. We went up the trail..."

Sheena slowed a bit, and fell into step with her brother. She even helped give a blow-by-blow account of her first fight with the Chosen's group.

Athan found it funny that Lloyd and Sheena's relationship started with Sheena earnestly trying to kill him and the rest of his friends. Lloyd privately thought Athan's sense of humor was a bit warped.

When they stopped for lunch, Genis didn't want to cook. They drew lots, and Lloyd ended up cooking. He didn't burn the spaghetti _too _badly.

They were in very good spirits—until the monsters started coming. For several hours, the longest they went without a fight was about thirty minutes.

During one fight—along about three in the afternoon—Athan called out to Lloyd. "Does this usually happen?" He dodged a vicious jab from a Cockatrice's break and punched the monstrous bird in the face.

Lloyd crippled the other cockatrice with a deft series of choice slices. "Sometimes it's worse—we've had times we when couldn't _move_ for monsters."

"Really? At least it's interesting like this." And he went into a routine that Lloyd had seen Regal do many a time—three roundhouse kicks, all going the same way, then a massive flip-kick that carried him over it, and then seamlessly stiffening his body so his whole body weight came down on the poor bird.

It was getting late in the day, and they weren't far from Hima, when they found the dragon rider.

The man sat imperiously on his mount. Lloyd and company stopped to regard him.

The two groups stood their ground for at least a minute. Finally, Lloyd asked, "Are you going to move?"

The man said haughtily. "I shall not move aside for landless knaves. Thou trespass on my lands. Therefore, thou shall pay tribute to me."

Lloyd glanced at his friends before saying, "_Really_?" in tones of great interest. "That's something to hear."

"Pay, knave, or I shall be inclined to educate thee, and, weakling that thou surely art, thou surely will not survive thy education. I am sure that none would mourn thee."

Athan looked at the faces of his companions. He came to the conclusion that the dragon rider had a very small life expectancy. He stepped in front of the group. "Let me handle this."

Scowling darkly, Lloyd said, "Fine! Deal with this pig."

"I intend to." He came forward at the rider. "G'day," he said cheerfully.

"Art thou simple? I do not converse with peasants who cannot afford even a shirt."

Look, _your lordship_, why do you have to talk in a style of speech that died out centuries ago? Even _I _know that even the most snobbish nobles in Meltokio have stopped speaking that way." Athan paused, and narrowed his eyes. _You ARE from the other side, aren't you? _he thought. _Land-grabber…_

My speech is the speech of lords. Dost thou wish me to converse in thy rude fashion so that thou might understand me? Is thy mind deficient?"

Okay, the man really had a death wish. Athan took a couple of steps forward, and began talking in the man's own archaic dialect. "I find thy form misshapen and thy accent doglike. Thy breath, morever, is an offense against decency, and doth discolor the air every time thou openst thy mouth. Thou, with thy brainsickly deficiency, comprehend not the truth of me and mine companions. Stand aside, thou whoreson, or it is _thee_ who shalt receive an education." He managed to make the word _education_ sound like the crack of doom.

The man stiffened, and drew his sword. "Thou shalt pay for your disrespect, peasant." The man nudged his mount into a walk.

Athan turned to his friends, apparently oblivious to the man coming up behind him. "You see what people are like? Try to warn them from the course of folly, and they get huffy."

Then he whirled on the spot and punched the dragon in the side of the head even as it came within range. The force of the blow spun the flightless dragon through a hundred and eighty degrees, knocking it down. Its rider was thrown, and landed wrong—breaking his leg. Athan calmly walked over to the dragon's head, and knelt. He peeled back its eyelid to examine the eye, then judiciously punched it at the base of its skull. It went limp immediately. Then he got up and turned his attention to the man struggling to get up.

He knelt over the squirming man. "My, my," he said blandly. "Look at the angle your leg is at. It's surely broken." He looked up at his friends, and winked. "We happen to have an _ex_cellent healer with us. Might I offer her services?"

"Please," the man gasped.

Athan beckoned Raine over. "Miss Raine, correct me if I'm wrong, but a bone has to be set before it can be healed, otherwise it'll mend crooked, right?"

Raine's smile was beatific. "Yes, that's right, Athan."

Athan bent over the man and patted his shoulder familiarly. "I hope you understand that we can't set your leg with all that armor on. Looks like we'll have to get it off of you. And, you know, I believe that none of us know the first thing about all those straps and buckles that go on this." He patted the man's broken leg, making him groan. "We'll just have to wrestle it off."

Athan's smile was friendly, but the man was looking right into Athan's slanted brown eyes. He saw the look in them. He whimpered slightly.

They came up the mountain path to Hima. They had stripped the man of his armor, Athan, guided by Raine, had set the bone in the man's leg (on his second try), Raine had healed his leg—but not quite completely—and then they'd left the unconscious dragon and marched the man along.

When the town was in sight, Athan took the man aside. His face was smiling, but there was little good humor in the voice that came hissing out from between his teeth. "I haven't been fooling you, have I?"

The man paled, and shook his head.

"Right," Athan said quietly. "I want you to know that I'm the only reason you're still alive. The others were about to kill you. I gave them a reason not to. I suggest you find honest work in the future—tending to dragons for carriages, maybe, because if I hear you're trying to extort money from travelers again, I'll come and find you. And then I'll twist your head off."

The man paled and nodded fearfully. Then he limped off into town at high speed.

Sheena was waiting for Athan up ahead. "What did you say to him?"  
"I pointed out the advantages of honest work versus the disadvantages of taking up robbery again."

"Riiight," she said dryly. Then she looked around. "They're expanding the place," she commented.

Athan looked around. The sunset was tinting _everything_ red. But in the dusk light, people were busy. The workers appeared to be building platforms around the mountain—and were using those as a foothold to cut terraces into the side of the mountain. They were very much long-range planners, he felt.

They caught back up with the group—several people hailed Sheena. "You know them?" he muttered to her.

"Some of these people helped rebuild Luin—that city used to be ruined," she said. "But then we started donating spare money to the reconstruction." She grinned. "We paid for almost the whole thing."

Athan made a face. "I've missed so much. I wish I could have seen some of the things you talk about."

"Don't worry about it," she said lightly. "Personally, I'm kinda glad the really exciting parts are over."

He thought it over. "I can understand that."

Further conversation was curtailed by a shout from the door of the inn. A tall man, red-haired and dashing, was approaching.

"Aifread!" Lloyd said a bit warily.

"Know him?" Athan asked Sheena quietly.

"He's a con man and pirate—he cheated us repeatedly in a short amount of time."

"Lloyd!" Aifread roared in his good-natured voice. "I see you've taken up pirating!"

Lloyd glanced at his clothes. "Yeah, well, you know how it is. We're too poor to afford a boat, so when we rob people, we tell them to imagine we're in the middle of the ocean. Then we find a ditch so they can walk the plank."

Aifread laughed. "Well, anyway, you're just in time for the party."

"Party?"

"Every two weeks we throw a big party for all the workers. Food, singing, dancing, that sort of thing. Stay for the night, and have a good time."

Lloyd looked at his group of friends. "What do you say?"

"I'm all for it," Sheena said. She nudged Athan.

"Yeah, I'm game," he said quickly.

The others followed suit.

Sheena grinned at her brother. "Want to have that curry cookoff?"

He returned the grin. "You're on!"

They took a couple of minutes to work out the rules, then went to separate areas to begin cooking.

**The rules were simple. **They found twenty volunteers who swore to be impartial. After Sheena and Athan finished cooking, they brought bowls of curry to in front of the inn, then lined the volunteers up. Without being told who cooked which bowl, each volunteer sampled both curries. After they had all tried, they were asked to vote.

The decision came out 10-10—a dead tie. When Athan and Sheena tried each other's handiwork, they found out they used almost exactly the same recipe. The competition ended up in laughter.

The food was definitely cooking, all over the mountain. Lloyd had watched Athan and Sheena's contest, and then had gone to find some dinner. He found a large bird over a fire and took a liking to the flavor. He even stayed with it after the man turning the spit told him it was a Cockatrice.

After everyone had eaten their fill, the musicians came up.

They were a group of individualists, to say the least. Drunk Abe could play a fiddle better than anyone else—but only after his fifth drink. Sober Cal played the horn and never touched alcohol. Good Ole Bill could get a tune out of anything, drunk or sober, so he made it a point of pride to always perform drunk. Gabby Gary never said a word and just played his guitar.

First there were the folk dances—the various reels and trots and two-steps. Laughing and shouting, people danced with whoever happened to be near.

Then the musicians began playing more formal tunes—waltzes and minuets, mostly. Those that knew how, danced. Those that didn't, let their feet cool off.

Lloyd had learned how to dance a waltz, courtesy of Zelos, Regal, and Seles. He and Sheena wheeled to the one-two-three beat, amidst other people.

Sheena muttered at him, "Presea and Genis are trying to dance."

"Trying?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, Genis is. He's leading Presea around, and she's not making an effort."

"I guess she hasn't had much chance to practice."

"True."

The musicians began a different tune, and the partners split up to find new ones, and Lloyd found himself dancing with Raine. She was surprisingly good.

"Nice night," Lloyd said.

"Yes," Raine agreed. "You've learned to dance very well, Lloyd."

"Zelos, Regal, and Seles gave me lessons last year."

"They did a good job," Raine complimented.

Over Raine's shoulder, Lloyd caught a glance of Athan and Sheena pacing each other. Athan said something with a straight face, and Sheena's laugh carried over the music. Lloyd felt a brief surge of jealousy.

Lloyd kept an eye on Athan through the night. The powerfully built, shirtless, and tattooed monk rarely had time to sit down, what with the stream of women asking him to dance. Lloyd's mood grew slightly worse as he watched Athan cut a swath through the hearts of forty-some-odd women.

The dancing continued until after midnight—apparently, Drunk Abe falling over and snoring was taken as a kind of notice that the party had ended. The party broke up, and the workers went to their tents and lean-tos to call it a night.

Lloyd woke up late the next morning. He went downstairs, to find Sheena talking with a woman he recognized as Sophia—the woman who had looked after Pietro.

Sheena looked up. "Have fun, sleepyhead?"

He nodded and yawned before answering. "Where is everybody?"

"They're waiting on you. We're all ready to leave."

"Where do they want to go?" Lloyd asked.

"Raine said she wanted to see Luin."

"Sounds good. Let's go!"


	14. Scenic Route

Chapter 14: Scenic Route

**They stopped for the night a few miles from Luin. **Ribs watched them set up camp and begin cooking. He got out his slate and pencil and began drawing the view of the mountains, his back to them.

After he was done, Athan came up behind him. "Are you okay, Ribs?"

Ribs set aside his paper, and wrote on his slate. I'M WISHING I COULD EAT.

"Are you hungry?"

NOT TECHNICALLY, BUT I HAVEN'T EATEN OR SLEPT IN ABOUT FOUR THOUSAND YEARS. I HAVE TIMES WHEN I'D LIKE TO GIVE THEM ANOTHER TRY.

"Are you tired?"

Ribs shook his head.

Athan smiled slightly. "You're very complex."

Grinning, as always, Ribs nodded.

"Lloyd must be needing some rest," Athan remarked. "The way you keep throwing him around with you two spar."

HE'S LEARNING FAST.

Athan nodded. "He might even beat you pretty soon."

Ribs shrugged.

Then Sheena came over, carrying a couple of bowls.

"Here you are, Athan," she gave him his bowl, and sat down on the other side of Ribs. "What are you two talking about?"

"This and that," Athan said, grinning.

Sheena smiled. "That's good." She glanced at their surroundings. "We should reach Luin in an hour."

"I've been meaning to mention this, Sheena. Before we go down to the dwarf city we could go to the Monastery to ask the librarians for works on architecture."

She stared at her brother. "You'd take us?"

"It's not actually disallowed, Sheena," he told her. "We do let visitors in."

"How do you keep the location a secret?"

"We ask them really nicely not to tell anyone."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. His look was one of total innocence.

After ten absolutely silent seconds, he added, "And we have them swear a magically-reinforced oath."

"Okay, that's better," she said.

Lloyd came up. "Hey, we're waiting for you three! Let's go!"

**Athan and Sheena walked along at the back of the group—just being near each other. Sheena broke the comfortable silence. **"Athan?"  
"Yes?"

"Do you want to tell them?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. She blushed. "I've been watching Lloyd. He's starting to get jealous."

"Really?" How can you tell?"

She hesitated. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "I just usually know what mood he's in. He's acting normal, but he's worried."

Athan nodded. "All right. When should we tell them?"

"When we get to Luin," she decided.

"As you wish, O sibling of my life."

She laughed. "I'd hug you, Athan, but Lloyd would misunderstand and, anyway, you'd break me in half if you hugged me back."

Athan examined an arms—the thick, tough biceps and the grooves of his tattooed forearms. "You're probably right," he observed blandly.

**Inside the city of Luin, by the fountain, the pair stopped. **

"Everyone," Sheena said. "We have something to tell you."

Lloyd paled slightly, but kept his voice normal. "What is it?"

"Athan and I, well, uh..."  
Athan took it up. "We're brother and sister."

_"What?"_ the shock was universal. Even Ribs reacted.

"How do you know?" Raine asked intently.

"Sheena's a summoner raised in Mizuho—she's always been told she was found in Gaoracchia Forest. Summoners are really rare, so that narrows the possibilities."

"How does that go with the two of you being related?" Raine kept on.

Athan took a breath, then told it as he'd told Sheena. When he finished, Lloyd grinned unbelievingly. "That's great, Sheena!" He hugged her.

Sheena returned the hug, grinning.

Raine looked at the siblings shrewdly. "That's what you two went off for at Iselia."

Athan nodded. "We've only known about it for a couple of days. We wanted to get to know each other before we let all of you know."

Ribs rubbed his masked chin thoughtfully. _They look a bit alike—the eyes and the chin_ his hands said.

Lloyd looked from one to the other. "You're right, Ribs."

Athan actually blushed. "Well, let's check out the city," he said quickly. He looked around—and saw the statue of Lloyd on the fountain. He looked at Lloyd and grinned. "Not a bad likeness."

Lloyd groaned. "Oh, man. They got my face and body and clothes right, but the pose—I wouldn't be caught dead in that pose. Sheena and Raine's statues are better."

Athan raised an eyebrow at the two women. Raine shrugged, but Sheena blushed.

Genis coughed to break the silence. "We need to go shopping—we need more food."

"We can do that," Sheena said, trying to put an arm across Athan's shoulders and not quite reaching all the way.

"I'll make a list," Genis said.

**The siblings came into the shop, Sheena reading the sheet of paper.**

There was a short hiss of breath. She looked up to see a man dressed in ordinary clothes, his eyes hollow. Her eyes widened. What was _he_ doing here?

"Ku—" she began.

He shook his head urgently. "They call me Oron here."

Athan looked from one to the other. "You two know each other." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. He's Kuchinawa. He wants to kill me."

"I used to," Kuchinawa said. He sounded...weary. "I've thought a lot in the last two years. Since the world has rejoined and the tree has sprouted, I have to admit I was wrong. I don't hate you now." He sounded not so much sad or depressed as dead.

Sheena relaxed. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't go back to Mizuho—even though they moved it to be not far from here. I don't mind it here—and your statue gave me something to watch while I thought about my life."

Athan raised an eyebrow. "I see you two have a history."

Kuchinawa smiled briefly. "When she was nine, Sheena failed to control the summon spirit Volt, and it rampaged and killed a quarter of Mizuho's population—including my parents. I hated her for years."

It was the plain way he said it that caught their attention. He went on, unconcerned. "I work here now. I can't actively use my ninja training here near Mizuho, and there's a price on my head in Tetha'alla from my association with the former Pope."

Athan gave him a calculating look. "Kuchinawa, would you accept a chance to start a new life?"

Kuchinawa regarded him flatly. "How would I get that that?"

"You're from Tethe'alla—you've probably heard of the Conversant Monastery. Would you like to join one of the orders there?"

For the first time, Kuchinawa's eyes showed a bit of life. "How would you know they'll accept me?"

"Because I'm a monk from there. I was sent on a task, which involves me traveling with Sheena and her friends."

"You'd tell me where it is?" Kuchinawa asked suspiciously.

"Yes," the tattooed monk said. He glanced at his sister. "It's in the Flanoir region. One of the islands to the west of the main continent is very tall and wide, with a flat top and a large ledge wrapping around it about halfway up. Get a boat, and search the islands until you find that one. Then set anchor and, when night comes out, set out a red light. A lantern with a thin red cloth around it would work best. Wait out there, and sooner or later, someone will come out there to meet you. Tell them Athan Donu said you should be considered for a novitiate."

Kuchinawa was eager to believe. He wanted to, badly. But a lifetime of training made him suspicious. "Why are you doing this for me?"

Athan glanced at Sheena, who'd watched the whole thing, eyes raised. "Because I don't think Sheena wants you to just continue like this."

"Why do you care what Sheena thinks?"

"She's my sister," Athan said flatly.

Kuchinawa started. "Wh—how?"

"I'll tell you about it when I see you at the Monastery. Right now we need supplies," He took the list from Sheena and handed it over.

**Sheena and her brother didn't say anything about their encounter with Kuchinawa to their friends. **As Sheena said, Lloyd would probably want to go see him, and Sheena had the feeling that Kuchinawa didn't want too much to do with them.

They didn't stay long in Luin—just long enough to walk around town and see everything.

They left in a couple of hours, and headed west, towards the new location of Mizuho—near Lake Umacy.

Sheena, as the next Chief of Mizuho, was welcomed with some pomp and ceremony, but apart from her informing Chief Igaguri about her relationship with Athan, it wasn't a momentous visit.

Their trip to Asgard caused some amusement when the mayor of the city asked Raine to perform the ceremony again. Athan and Ribs liked the city so much the others had to practically drag them away.

At Hakonesia Peak, Koton, the ancient, greedy, and apparently indestructible collector made a chance remark about Sheena's physique—and got slapped for it.

As they'd agreed, half of the distance was covered on Rheairds and half on foot. Genis whined constantly on the way to Palmacosta—it was the longest way they'd come so far.

Wagons passed them almost constantly—carrying building supplies or food. At least once an hour, a couple of wagons would go by. Genis whined about wanting to use the Rheairds, until Lloyd snapped at him.

"Lloyd," Raine said warningly. "We're walking across half a continent. I know you wanted to see the sights, but we don't have to actually _walk_ to do it, right? We could hitch a ride on one of the wagons."

Lloyd looked back over his shoulder, and saw one coming. "Right, we'll try that one."

And he and Genis yelled for the wagoneer to stop to talk, but the man kept on going, not even looking at them as he drove past.

Raine sighed. "You have got the slightest idea how to do this, do you?"

"What should we do, Professor?" Lloyd asked.

To the total shock of the others, Raine bent over and began rolling up a pants leg—eventually showing a long, shapely limb that Lloyd worked hard not to stare at. Then she stood on the edge of the road—and in ten minutes, a passing wagoneer came by. The exchange went something like: What are you people doing on the road in this heat, why you should ride with me, No trouble, I'd be glad for the company, here's a seat for the lovely ladies, you guys can sit in the back...

After that, travel was much quicker, and didn't involve so much trudging.

When they got to the city, they saw why it had a stream of wagoneers coming in and out of it.

The city was being totally rebuilt. Only a couple of buildings were being constructed as of yet, with the major effort being devoted to building the stone platforms which would provide the surface of the streets. As they watched, a team of magic users combined their efforts to push back the water—making a clear avenue in the water. As the group watched, teams hurried out and tied ropes and harnesses around blocks and pieces of debris. Then they ran out, and the mages, exhausted, let the water back in. Then teams began pulling the debris out of the water.

A familiar person was supervising a team pulling a large stone block.

"Pietro!" Lloyd called.

The man turned around and grinned. Then there were the hugs and handshakes and so on, while Ribs and Athan watched.

"What are you doing here?" Lloyd asked after all the greetings were over.

"I have experience in this sort of thing, remember? Mister Regal is paying for it and Mistress Clara is telling us how she wants it done."

Raine asked, "Have you seen Regal?"

"He's somewhere around here. Helping them pull rocks, I expect. He's paying for the reconstruction, but he works as hard as the rest of us." Pietro's voice was admiring.

"Can you let people know we want to see him?"

Pietro nodded. "Okay." Then he grinned and held out a hand. "Hey, Lloyd. Once more, for old times' sake?"

"You're worse than a bully, Pietro," Lloyd complained as he pulled Gald out of his pockets and handed it over.

They went to just outside the city, out of the way of workers and waited for an hour before Regal came to them, wearing his convict clothes, layered with dirt, in which sweat had streaked open the strata.

"Regal," Raine said. "We're going to go to a dwarf city to ask engineers there for help on the bridge, and Ribs told us that Genis and Presea can't go—for safety reasons. Would you mind keeping an eye on them?"

Regal turned to the duo. "You two would be very useful here. Genis, your power is much greater than any mage here; you could probably double our time limit when they push back the water. And Presea, your strength would be most useful."

Genis' eyes brightened. "That'd be great!"

Raine looked at Genis. "I want you to do what Regal says, Genis."

"Okay," he said in a long-suffering tone.

When they left, Regal was discussing how to best use their power with them.

Ribs turned to Lloyd. _We have to go back to Meltokio_ his hands said.

"What? All the way back?"

Ribs nodded.

"Why?"

_We need Zelos. I know he's necessary for this. He should be recovered by now_.


	15. The Conversant Monastery

Chapter 15: The Conversant Monastery

**"We have to get Zelos?" Lloyd asked.**

Ribs nodded.

"Is this one of those things that you know?"

Ribs nodded again. _We need Zelos_ his hands repeated.

"It'll take us a week to get to Tethe'alla," Lloyd said.

Ribs shrugged. _We've got time_.

"Maan..." Lloyd complained.

"Well..." Genis said uncomfortably. "I guess I'll see you."

Sheena grinned. "Of course you will." She ruffled Genis's silvery-white hair.

They left Genis and Presea with Regal, and went outside the city.

**It took them a few days to get to Meltokio—it was on the other side of the world, after all.**

They landed outside the city and let Ribs get into his costume. Then they wound their way through the streets, and up to Zelos' mansion.

Inside, Zelos was playing chess against Sebastian, his butler. The red-headed man looked much better than he had the last time they'd seen him. As they came in, Zelos looked over and shushed them, and went back to studying the board. Finally he moved a piece.

Without hesitating, Sebastion moved one of his pieces. "Checkmate, sir, if I'm not mistaken."

Zelos groaned. Then he looked up at the group. "Why! Good to see you!" He stood up. "Your clothes are done, Lloyd. Alice was able to save them after all."

"Great!" Lloyd grinned. Then he glanced at Ribs. "Ribs says we need you when we go down to a dwarf city."

"Why?" Zelos asked, looking at the disguised skeleton.

Ribs hands moved in the gestures of the sign language. _We need you for the journey. It's one of those things I know._

"I thought I needed to recover."

_You've had a few weeks, and you weren't far from being well when we left._

Zelos sighed. "Figures. I was just getting comfortable."

_Get over it, pretty boy. You're coming with us, and I think you and I will be engaging in some light training._

Lloyd grinned, remembering how he had learned most of Ribs' tricks. "Zelos, I think you'd like Ribs' training." He glanced at Sheena, who had a hand over her mouth, her eyes dancing.

"Really? Okay, I'll come."

Even Raine was grinning as Zelos got up to get his sword and shield.

**That night, they camped on the other side of the Tethe'alla Bridge. **Lloyd was finally able to wear his preferred clothes again, and he reveled in the feeling as he watched Zelos and Ribs spar.

With the grunts of effort and pain from Zelos and the occasional clang as Ribs was forced to parry going on, Lloyd found he could watch Zelos' struggles philosophically. He also found it interesting to watch how Ribs worked from a spectator's perspective. "Watch out for his foot," Lloyd called lazily to Zelos.

"You're enjoying this," Athan accused.

"Yeah," Lloyd said with a wide grin.

"You're evil," Athan grinned back at him. "Anyway, there's something I want to tell you."

"Sure," Lloyd said as he watched Ribs kick Zelos in the shin.

"Do you want to go to the Conversant Monastery before we head underground?"

Lloyd looked at the fighting monk. "You can bring us there?"  
"I'm allowed to tell where it's at—if there's a reason for it."

"What's the reason?"

"Finding some works on architecture and engineering."

Lloyd smiled. "Thanks!"

"Should we let them know?" Athan looked at the others, watching the sparring match and cheering on both fighters.

"Let's let them finish," Lloyd said, nodded his head at the fight.

"You just want to see Zelos get thrown around," Athan said, grinning.

"I can't fool you, can I?" Lloyd said without a trace of embarrassment.

When it was over, Zelos was very much inclined to just go back to Meltokio, but the others overruled him.

"By the way," Sheena said. "If you leave, we won't tell you the two bombshells we found out while you weren't with us."

"What?" Zelos damanded.

Sheena threw an arm around Athan's shoulders. "Meet my brother."

"What?" Zelos asked, clearly not understanding.

"Athan—the guy right here—is my brother," Sheena said, as if explaining to a child.

"_How_?" Zelos demanded.

Athan ran through the story—it got shortened every time. When he finished, Zelos grinned. "I'm glad for you, Sheena—and for you, too, Athan. What's the second piece of news?"

The others glanced at Ribs. "Do you want to tell him yourself?" Lloyd asked.

Ribs nodded, and got out his slate and pencil. He wrote, then handed it to Zelos.

WE VISITED THE GREAT TREE, AND I REMEMBERED WHO I WAS WHEN I WAS ALIVE.

"Who?"

Ribs took back the slate for a short while, then gave it back. I WAS A GENERAL IN THE ANCIENT WAR. AFTER MITHOS YGGDRASILL STOPPED THE WAR, I SOUGHT REVENGE UPON HIM FOR STOPPING A WAR I WAS SURE WE WOULD WIN. IN SHORT, I'M THE HUMAN WHO MURDERED MARTEL—AND DROVE MITHOS INSANE.

Zelos almost fell over. "What?"

Ribs went to sign language. _I must pay for that crime. That's why I have to help rid the world of Exspheres. It is my atonement._

"And you need me to do it, right?"

Ribs nodded.

"All right. Anything for you, Ribs."

**The others didn't react badly to the change in travel plans—Athan informed them he would lead them to the Monastery. **The next day, Athan flew his Rheaird towards the Flanoir region.

When the bitter, frozen islands came into view he veered off towards the west—going down to the islands surrounding the mainland. He led them in great, sweeping curves—then led down to a specific island; one with a very flat top and a wide ledge around it about halfway up.

Athan aimed his Rheaird at the ledge, and the rest followed him.

Lloyd looked around as he landed. Now he could see doors worked into the walls and the worked floor. This wasn't an entirely natural work, unless Nature had decided to take up rather good tile work.

While they were putting away the Rheairds, a young man came outside. He was tattooed, but he only had one dragon—on his right forearm. "Athan," he said. "Who are these people?"

Athan looked at his fellow monk. "Aegis, these are the people responsible for the world's rejoining."

The young man straightened. "I'll tell Master Brodelaw at once." he bowed briefly and hurried out.

Athan turned to his friends. "Right. There are some things you need to know. The Monastery is _not_ a single entity. There are about two dozen orders in here. We study _everything_. My order studies the control of the body—physical training helps us do that. The Council of Masters will want to talk to you, and I'd heavily suggest making your request for help to them. However, it's good manners to cooperate with those who have questions and wait before you make the request."

The younger man came back out the door, followed by a towering, powerfully built man as bald as the moon. His tattoo pattern was complete—dragons, flowers, and the dot on his forehead.

Athan bowed to the man reverently. "Master Brodelaw, I have brought those responsible for the breaking of the Tower of Salvation, the sprouting of the New Tree, and the rejoining of the world."

The man crossed his huge arms. "Athan, why are you being so polite?"

Athan straightened. "Appearances, Master," he said with a faint smile.

"Stop it. I've known you since you were six years old. We don't need to stand on ceremony."

"As my master commands," Athan said with an open grin and a deep bow.

Brodelaw turned to the group. "There's no talking to him when he's like this. As my smart-mouthed star pupil keeps saying, I'm a Master. I'll introduce you to the Council of Masters."

He led them inside, through a maze of hallways and a few stairwells. The lighting came from strange lamps, like the ones they'd seen in the Desian human ranches. Raine kept muttering things like "fantastic" and "marvelous". Athan and his teacher led the group. Along the way, Athan said, "Master, remind me to talk to Master Ficer."

"Why would you need to talk to him?"

"I wanted to tell him his ideas on fighting dragons work."

"You fought some dragons, I take it?"

Athan nodded. "There were five, and I killed two using his ideas about their weak points."

"Be sure to tell him. He'll be over the moon since you gave it a try."

They came to a long, low, comfortably furnished room. It seemed to be a common area. Brodelaw sent word for the Council to be convened, and then they had to wait. It was an hour before they were called, so they were able to fill in Brodelaw on what'd happened, why they were traveling with a skeleton, and Sheena and Athan's relationship.

At that point, Athan looked at Sheena. "Mother is here, Sheena. She's a mid-ranked sister in an order that studies plants. Would you want to see her?"

Lloyd was watching Sheena's face. He could tell she _wanted_ to, but, somehow, Sheena smiled and said, "No, not on this visit. I'll come back here later when I can take some time to talk."

Finally, a low-ranking monk came into the room. "Master, the Council is ready."

Brodelaw looked at his guests. "Are you all ready?"

They nodded.

"Good," the fighting master said, and stood up.

**Two hours later, the group was being led to the library. **Lloyd was angry.

"Why did they have to question Sheena like that," he growled.

Sheena put an arm around Lloyd's shoulders. "I'm a summoner. We're very rare. It's only natural that they'd be interested."

"Yeah," Athan said. "The Monastery _is_ dedicated to seeking knowledge. You can't blame them for wanting to find out about Sheena."

Raine said, "They were very helpful, offering us the services of the librarians."

"I know," Lloyd said grudgingly. "But they just kept asking Sheena the same stuff. 'You really can summon?' 'What spirits have you formed pacts with?' 'Have you found Maxwell?' You'd think answering a question once would be enough."

Athan led them to another set of double doors—huge and opened wide.

Beyond them was a massive domed room. The dome was hundreds of feet above their heads, and the central open space beneath it had four floors and then the ground one. Lloyd stared in awe. They'd _never_ be able to find what they needed on their own.

A thin, balding man in faded robes came up to them. "You must be the visitors."

Raine's eyes were lit up. "Marvelous..." She breathed. "All this knowledge."

The man smiled, his thin face looking very good-natured. "Ah, you are a scholar?"

"Yes!" Raine exclaimed. "Tell me, do you have any works on engineering and architecture?"

"For what?"

"A very long bridge. The drawbridge mechanism needs replacing."

The others watched, fascinated, as Raine and the librarian fired questions back and forth. Eventually, the librarian called for an assistant, who was sent off to fetch the books with a certain code.

Then Raine and the librarian's discussions went further than bridge-building.

The assistant came back with three books. The librarian passed them to Raine.

She glanced through them, then looked up. "May we borrow these?"

The librarian turned to his assistant, his eyebrows raised.

"Yes, sir. There are multiple copies of each," the much younger man said.

"Thank you, Mothwick." He turned back to Raine. "You may borrow them. I would appreciate it if you returned them at sometime in the future, but word was sent ahead of you that you may need materials for an indefinite period of time. I just ask you return them if you can."

"Thank you, sir," Raine said warmly.

Then another assistant came running up. "Master Dewey! The Order of the Lotus wants everything we have about biology!"

The thin man's face darkened. "Now?" The novice nodded. Dewey sighed. "Forgive me, but I must see to this..." He strode off, muttering things like, "whole biology collection," and "foolishness".

Lloyd looked at Raine, who was holding the books reverently. "Did we get what we need, Professor?"

"Wha...?" She looked up. "Oh, yes. I think these will help."

He looked at Athan. "Can we go now?"

The monk nodded. "Oh, yes. You answered their questions. We're free to go to a dwarf city—after you take the vow not to reveal the location of this place without need."

Lloyd grinned. "Finally."

**The next week saw them back in Sylvarant. **They went by Dirk's house for more explicit directions to the cave that would lead to Ganogrin—and directions for when they were underground. At the end of the same day, they found the cave along Ossa Trial.

Lloyd stared at it. It looked normal. There was no way to know it led to deep in the ground. He turned. "Are we ready?"

His friends nodded. Ribs turned to them. _I will lead_, his hands said. _Do as I say, without question._

They nodded. "Whatever, Bone man," Zelos said.

The empty sockets turned to Raine. _Provide us with light when we get inside._

She nodded. They got their weapons, checked their supplies, and then, finally, went into the dark.


	16. The Long Dark

Chapter 16: The Long Dark

**It was cool inside the cave, and while Ribs knew it was dim, could _see_ it was dim, it didn't make much difference. **His eyeless gaze penetrated light and dark alike.

He drew his sword and checked his shield. If they were lucky, he thought. If they were lucky, they'd make it through encountering only some of the weaker varieties of creatures.

Ribs heard Lloyd come up behind him. The skeleton turned and cocked his head to one side.

"We're supposed to head east, and downwards. Could you keep track of directions for us?"

Ribs nodded. Bones clicking, he walked further into the cave, then turned and waved them on. He couldn't help but worry that he was the only one really suited to surviving underground. The others had some useful quality or another, but he was the only one with everything.

He pushed the thought out of his mind, and stopped. He pointed with his sword down the way they would go. He pointed at Raine, who nodded and concentrated a moment before a light came from the end of her staff. It lit up quite a ways in front of them.

It also illuminated some angular runes carved into the walls. The group came around to look at them.

"What are they?" Lloyd asked quietly.

Ribs snapped his fingers to get his attention. When Lloyd looked at him, Ribs made a couple of simple gestures. _Dwarf sign._

Lloyd nodded. "We could follow these, right?"

Ribs nodded, then began walking down, into the darkness. The others followed.

Ribs had a marvelous sense of direction—he'd had it even when he was alive. What's more, he could _feel_ they were moving the right way. He knew it in the bone.

For the first couple of miles, the tunnel widened, narrowed, twisted, and turned, but it didn't fork. Ribs felt sorry for the others—they could see easily in the light coming from the crystal on Raine's staff, but they were following this single trail, in a small bubble of light, with the darkness around them like a curtain.

Then they came to a place where the trail divided into three. Ribs took an experimental step down one of them, and felt it was the right one. He pointed his sword down the opening, and waved them over.

It was a mark of their trust that they followed him. They spoke in whispers; anything louder than that echoed uncomfortably, and they didn't need Ribs to tell them there were things that would take an interest in the sounds.

They'd been going in the dark for five hours when they had their first fight. There was no warning—the shade-like creatures attacked out of the walls. They were solid, in a way, but shifted and stretched. The group attacked, hoping to bear down Lloyd and his friends by weight of numbers.

The first one reached out at Ribs—and got torn to pieces by the worn blade of the wary undead. Without hesitating, Ribs moved over to Raine, dropping his sword to gesture for more light.

It took a moment to sink in, then Raine increased the brightness. The illuminated area around her spread—showing two or three of the hungry shadows. Caught in the open, they were torn apart in a couple of seconds. The rest of the shades fled.

"What were they?" Zelos asked in a shaking voice.

_Creatures of darkness._ Ribs told him, his fleshless hands making odd shadows in the cold light of Raine's staff. _We may see more of them later._ He regarded them for a moment, then made a couple of gestures. _Let's go._

**Ribs found he had another talent besides a good sense of direction. **He could keep track of what time it was. The group wordlessly deferred to his decisions, so when he stopped and said it was time for a break, they settled down and rested.

Cooking was a minor problem that Ribs and Zelos solved. When they needed to cook, he or Zelos would use magic to heat up a small area of the rocky floor. Then they'd use the heated space like a burner on a stove.

After about two days in the caverns, Ribs felt slightly better about his companions. They'd adjusted admirably. They all slept warily, ready to wake and fight at a moment. The hungry shades attacked them repeatedly, forcing everyone in a permanent state of alertness.

For Lloyd and Zelos, Ribs' lessons were useful. The shadow creatures weren't skilled fighters, and the two swordsmen found it effective to use one of Ribs' tricks, then slay the thing while it was on the ground or holding its shin.

At night, Ribs kept watch while the others tried to sleep. During the third night of his watch, Ribs watched down the tunnel carefully. Calmly, he woke up everybody. _Get ready_, he told them when he'd got them up.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

_Lots of the shadow-things._

"How many?" Sheena asked.

Ribs glanced down the tunnel again. He could pick out the creatures from the surrounding darkness. _Too many_, his hands said. _Raine, make it as bright as day in here. Use your light spells. The rest, use magic or techniques. Try to kill them in groups._

The seething horde filled the tunnel, watching their intended prey. Raine brightened the tunnel, showing the silhouetted army of the creatures. They drew back slightly. Ribs began casting—his hands tracing an occult pattern in the air. Then he released it, and the Freeze Lancer tore a line through the crowded creatures. The seething mass of textured darkness advanced, others filling the line where the spell had felled some.

Raine built a spell and hurled it out in the middle of the horde. The Ray proved very effective—the massive bolts of light thundered out in sequence, obliterating a couple of dozen of the creatures.

But two dozen weren't much difference to hundreds. The shades came on. Lloyd, Zelos, and Athan met them, the three fighters killing and maiming with every stroke.

The blades of Lloyd and Zelos sheared through the inky substance of the creatures easily. Athan, his face intent, was using his training. The technique he used made his hands and feet glow, and when they touched a shadow-creature, they sheared through the substance. The three were butchering the shades, but the sheer weight of the black tide was forcing them back.

Ribs didn't join in with his sword. The three were slowing the black mass, and effectively blocking the tunnel. Instead, Ribs threw spells out into the mob—using mostly Eruption and Air Thrust to throw and rip apart the things.

Ribs happened to glance at Sheena. She was holding perfectly still, whispering to herself. Ribs felt the mana surge, and then heard Sheena command in a ringing voice, "Come! Aska!"

A glowing circle raised out of the ground, and the double-headed, golden bird appeared in the circle. "Get out of the way!" Sheena yelled at the three fighters. They glanced back, saw the bird, and retreated. The edge of the horde followed—but stopped after they got so close to Aska.

"Kill them all!" Sheena commanded.

The dual-headed bird spreads its wings and set itself. It opened its beaks, and light began welling up in those spaces—for just an instant. Then the dual blast flared out.

After a roaring, white-hot eternity, the blinding streams of white light ended—leaving the trail oddly lit up. The path was devoid of the shades. Aska disappeared in a spray of sparks.

Athan was stunned. He turned to Sheena and tried to say something. After several seconds of him making incoherent sounds, Sheena patted him kindly. "I said I can summon, remember?"

"Y-d-g-wh-h-d-c...?" The monk sounded like he couldn't decide on a word to start a sentence with.

Lloyd patted his friend's shoulder. "It gets easier after you go numb."

Oddly enough, the tunnel was still lit. Raine glared at the rather ordinary light. "Sheena, did you tell Aska to do this?"

"Well...I was wishing this place wasn't so dark."

Raine looked back down the comfortably lit tunnel. "He fixed it for us."

None of them could get back to sleep after that, so they packed up and went down the tunnel. They followed the lit trail, feeling more comfortable in the light. For the first time in days, they began to smile again.

It lasted until they came to a true cavern. The light spilled out of the tunnel, the beam clearly visible in the air. The whole cavern was filled with faint mist from a waterfall at one end of it. The muffled roar filled the vast space. It was a very healthy fraction of a mile across, the floor broken and filled with ridges and ravines.

They walked across, letting Ribs lead. Even though they were below the level of the tunnel they came from, the diffused light made it possible to see.

As they were walking under a ridge, something dropped down—onto Zelos.

Zelos screamed. To his credit, it wasn't a high-pitched girlish scream, but it still indicated that he was terrified and panicking.

"Get it off of me!" Zelos yelled, dancing around.

"Hold on!" Lloyd demanded, reached out and grabbing a handful of some...slippery strands of the thing. Zelos yelled louder.

A new voice, muffled but clearly female, said, "Hey, spike. Let go of _my_ hair or I'll twist pretty-boy's ear off."

Lloyd cautiously let go. A hand released Zelos' ear, and the thing on his back dropped off, and stood up.

It turned out to be a short, pretty young woman. Her eyes were viridian green, and her hair was a rare shade of plum-purple—and indication of some elvish ancestry. She couldn't have been taller than five feet, but she stood like she was of equal height to Lloyd. Her clothes were a plain, hard-wearing leather tunic and matching leggings.

She noticed the group staring at her. "What? What did I do?" She demanded.

Then her gaze took in Ribs, and her tone changed from cross to excited. She squealed. "Ooh, hey, bony, I've been waiting for you." She looked at him. "You're the group I've been waiting for? You're supposed to come with me!" She did a little hop on the spot, showing a dazzling smile, as if traveling with them was what she wanted more than anything in the whole wide world.

They all turned to Ribs. Lloyd said, "What's she talking about?"

Ribs sheathed his sword and made a few signs in the half-light. _She's supposed to come with us._

"Did you know about her?"

Ribs shook his head. _Not until just now._

"What's with the waving he's doing?" The short young woman demanded.

"It's a sign language," Zelos said. He seemed to have calmed down from having someone drop on his back out of nowhere. The fact that was she was showing signs of a bubbly personality could have helped his recovery.

"Really? Cool. I'll have to learn it sometime. Anyway, you want to go to Ganogrin, right?"

"How did you know?" Lloyd asked.

"I just do. I'm Elpida, by the way. Ganogrin's this way," she pointed helpfully. "Coming? Or do you prefer the company of those _darlin'_ shadow goblins?"


	17. Raised by a Dwarf

Chapter 17: Raised by a Dwarf.

_Author's note: I'd like to acknowledge something here. I have to give credit to my Live-in Editor, Head Critic, Assistant Proofreader, Sounding Board, and sister, Kelly. The idea of Elpida is hers. Kelly, this is so your fault._

**Ribs and the young woman who called herself Elpida led the group, the girl talking to the skeleton like she'd known him all her life. **The rest of the party was somewhat amused by her bubbly manner. She'd assured them that no more of what she called the shadow goblins would come after them, so they were free to relax. At one point, she dropped back a bit to walk along beside Zelos. "Fred, is your ear okay?"

"What?"

"You look like a Fred," she said patiently. "So I'm calling you that."

"My name's Zelos!"

"Really? That's a cool name. But you still look like a Fred, Fred."

Zelos gave up. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry I tried to twist your ear off. And there's something else."

"What's that?"

"Your hair smells nice, Fred."

The five-foot woman picked up her pace to walk beside Ribs again.

Zelos laughed a bit uncertainly, feeling like he was on the wrong end of it.

True to what she'd said, they encountered no more of the aggressive shades along the way.

At one point, however, they passed through a more open place. The light from Raine's staff was reflected back by the thousands. Lloyd's breath hissed between his teeth.

"They're exspheres!" he said, looking at the innumerable sparkles shining in the walls.

"Yes," Elpida said, her voice totally serious for the first time since they'd met her. She surveyed the cave. "It's sad. They're so lonely..." she sniffed slightly, then seemed to recover. "Let's just get out of here."

She was quiet for a few minutes after they had exited the Exsphere deposit. After her silence, she rapidly went back to her happy-go-lucky self.

Slowly, dull roar began to fill the caverns. It got louder as they went further, and seemed to be made of many busy sounds all happening at once.

Then they could see light ahead. The group picked up their pace, jogging towards the light and noise, hoping. As they came out into the wide cavern, they stopped to stare at the dwarf city.

It was filled with dwarfs—hundreds of them. They bustled in the streets, going from building to building. The party was on a ledge, looking over the panorama of low buildings.

Elpida turned and stamped her foot imperiously. "Come on!" They shook off their awe, and followed her down the path to the city. As they passed through the city, dwarfs turned to stare at the group. Cries of, "It's the girl!" followed their progress.

Elpida led them confidently through the crowd to a certain house some way into the city. She knocked at the door. "Mr. Duncan, I'm back!"

"Come in," a gruff voice said.

She opened the door and went in. "I found those people I was looking for. Isn't that _nice_?" She said.

Inside was a black-bearded dwarf sitting at a table, with several books laid out in front of him. He looked up at the group filing into his living room. "What's this, Iris?" he demanded. "Humans? A half-elf? An' a walkin' skeleton?"

"These are the people I was waiting for," Elpida said as if that was the most wonderful thing in the world.

"What'd you bring them here for?"

Lloyd squared his shoulders. "Er...sir, my friends and I came here for help."

"_What?_" Duncan stood up. "A non-dwarf wantin' dwarven help? No way!"

"But I was raised by a dwarf!"

"Likely story!" Duncan growled. "What was the name of this dwarf who supposedly raised you?"

"Dirk Irving."

The dwarf looked less sure of himself. "What's Dwarven Vow Seventy-four?"

" 'A diamond in the hand is worth two in the mine' " Lloyd said automatically.

"Twenty-eight?"

Lloyd's eyes unfocused. " 'You can't always get what you want.' "

"Fifty-three?" Duncan's beard twitched. He seemed to be smiling, and his voice wasn't as hostile.

" 'Things just happen. What the hell.'"

"Ninety-one?"

" 'Always bring a spare light.' "

"Okay, lad. What about number seven?"

Sheena, Raine, _and_ Zelos joined in when Lloyd quoted, " 'Goodness and love will always win.' "

The dwarf went dead white behind his black beard. "You spread the teachings to non-dwarves?" He asked in a shaking voice.

"Well, I, uh..." Lloyd stammered, suddenly worried.

The dwarf stalked around his table, and advanced on Lloyd with his eyes narrowed. Lloyd started to backpedal, but Duncan marched right up to him and hugged him around the middle.

"Yer a dwarf clean to the bone," he said in a voice choked with tears. "I wish yeh were in my clan."

He backed up, sniffed, and wiped an eye. "I'll go to the house of Clan Irving and get the House-head. I'd be honored if yeh'd stay here while yeh wait."

He left, still wiping his eyes. Lloyd heaved a sigh of relief, and relaxed.

"That had me scared," he admitted.

"I thought he was about to punch you," she said, to general agreement. Then she looked at Elpida. "Why'd he call you Iris?"

The short, purple-haired girl smiled. "It's my first name, Sheena." She looked over at Lloyd. "How do you remember all those vows? I can't ever keep them straight. I know 'Let's all work together for a peaceful world,' and that's it."

Lloyd grinned. "My dad's a good teacher."

She crossed her arms. "Hmph."

In a few minutes, the dwarf Duncan came back with another dwarf. "That's him, the black-beard said. "That's the boy of Dirk Irving."

The other dwarf had a rich auburn beard. "Duncan says yeh know the Dwarven Vows, and taught yer friends some of them."

"That's right," Lloyd said.

The dwarf grinned. "Good goin', lad. Now, what's a dwarf-by-adoption doin' down here?"

"I want the help of your engineers. I want them to design a new mechanism for a drawbridge."

"Why's that?"

Lloyd filled him in on the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge and his quest to rid the world of Exspheres.

When he was done, the dwarf said, "Why do you feel so strongly about about exspheres?" the member of clan Irving asked.

Lloyd's face went solid. "They make a mockery of life. Two years ago, I swore to destroy them all. Yeah, I know they make you stronger, but it's at the cost of someone else's life." He held up a hand, showing the exsphere and key crest on the back. "This is my mother's life. This was grown in her, and she was killed for _this_. I hate using it, but I'll use it until I've completed my quest. No life should exist for the sole purpose of dying."

Lloyd's speech left a long silence. Finally, the dwarf said, "If you manage to complete your quest, we'll make that a Dwarven Vow."

"What?" Lloyd asked, confused.

" 'No life should exist for the sole purpose of dying.'" the dwarf quoted. "If you do what you say you'll do, I'll do everything I can to see that's added to the Dwarven Vows.

"You'd do that for me?"

"You'll have earned it," the dwarf said gruffly.

"Thank you," Lloyd said quietly.

The dwarf's beard twitched as he smiled. "Right, I'm Angus, and I'm the head of this holding of clan Irving. Dirk's my cousin, so that makes us family. Now what are the specs on this bridge?"

Lloyd threw a pleading look at Raine. She came to his rescue, getting her books out of her pack. She said, "The bridge is quite large, but only one section of it is the drawbridge to let ships through."

"How long is this section?" the dwarf asked. Then he and Raine talked back and forth. The others caught snatches of words like "the" and "a" and "counterweight" and "point of balance".

After several minutes they seemed to come to an agreement. "Right. Me 'n' a few of the boys will go up to the surface with you, and have a talk with the King's people. Then I think we'll hang around to supervise the construction."

"What?" Lloyd stared.

Angus grinned. "I've been wantin' a vacation for a while. I'm sure a few of me friends would like a trip in the sunshine. Besides, you're part of me clan. I'd be doing yeh wrong if I didn' help."

**The dwarf engineers' approach to designing seemed to be argumentative. **Three of them stood around a chalk board, sketching diagrams, arguing, seizing the chalk from each other and rubbing out what the previous chalk-holder had drawn before it was properly finished.

It apparently worked. The dwarfs had come up with four or five rough plans for the drawbridge mechanism by the next day. Then they'd packed up, and announced they were going, and Lloyd's friends had had no choice but to go with them. The city provided the party with an escort—numerous enough to deter the various things in the dark, who'd long ago learned the wisdom of not attacking dwarfs.

It was an easy three days back to the sunlight. At the end of the journey, Elpida squealed with delight and did a dance. "No more dark! No more weird creatures watching and talking about me and doing creepy goblin things!"

Zelos watched her excited jig with a smile. "How long have you been down there?" he asked her.

"A couple of years. The dwarves found me in an Exsphere cave. I don't know how I got there."

"What did you do before that?"

"I remember traveling a lot," she said, then shivered. "It feels like it happened to someone else, though." She looked up at the red-headed man. "Fred, could you quit asking me stuff like this? It's creepy thinking about it." Without waiting for an answer, She immediately turned to Lloyd. "Hey, George!"

"Wha...?" Lloyd blinked. "My name's Lloyd. I told you."

She gave him a winsome smile. "Can I call you George?"

Lloyd gave her a flat look. "No."

"_Pleeease_? You _look_ like a George."

"No."

"You're no fun," she pouted. "Anyway, you seem to be in charge. Where are we going?"

Lloyd looked at the landscape spread before them. "I think we'll go to Meltokio."

Sheena, standing nearby, made a face. "Some of us will have to double up on the Rheairds."

It didn't stop them from getting there.


	18. Catching Up

Chapter 18: Catching up

**A few days later, Lloyd wandered the halls of the Imperial Research Academy, feeling useless. **Occasionally, he'd see one of the others during his ramblings around the building. Their conversation was always the same.

"Have you been by there? What have they decided?" And he'd have to answer that he didn't know what the trio of dwarves and the Royal Engineers were talking about.

Thinking to get himself lunch, went into the cafeteria. Zelos and the young lady Iris Elpida were there, eating sandwiches and laughing. They seemed to hang around each other a lot.

"Right," Zelos was saying. "The guy looks at the innkeeper and says, 'Do you _really_ think I wish for a twelve-inch pianist?' "

Elpida laughed, spraying crumbs. "Fre—Zelos, you're _wrong_."

The redhead turned to look at their visitor. "Lloyd," he said expansively. "Sit down and have a sandwich."

"Not if you're telling those jokes again."

"Oh, don't worry. Me and Miss Purple-Hair will clean up our act so we don't offend you."

Lloyd sat down across from them and reached for a sandwich.

"Have you heard anything from the meeting?" Zelos asked.

Lloyd shook his head, chewed, and swallowed. "Angus ran me out of the room, and they're still talking, as far as I know."

Zelos grinned. "It's funny that you're considered to be a dwarf. Will you grow a beard?"

Lloyd unconsciously rubbed at his chin. "I don't think I can."

"What?"

"Have you ever seen me shave?"

Zelos frowned, thinking. "No," he admitted finally. "I don't think I have."

Elpida, as she preferred to be called, smiled. "Well, _good_. I don't really like beards. That's one thing that always bothered me about the dwarves. Some of them could be cute, but they _insist_ on growing like those great big beards."

Lloyd frowned. "You know, come to think of it, I never saw Kratos shave or with stubble. He's my other dad, so, I dunno, maybe it runs in the family."

The short purple-haired girl looked confused. "_Other_ dad?"

"Lloyd was found and adopted by a dwarf, but his real father, named Kratos, we met a couple of years back. But he left after our quest was done."

She nodded. Zelos turned back to Lloyd. "Speaking of Old Stoneface, have you talked to him since he left?"

Lloyd nodded. "A few times. I had to use the Eternal Sword to do it."

"Why don't you do that while you're waiting for the meeting to end?"

Lloyd's eyes brightened.

**Lloyd practically dragged Sheena in the now-unused basement of the Imperial Research Academy. **"Come on! We can talk to him here!"

Lloyd drew his twin swords. "Here we go," he told her.

He concentrated on the power he felt in those blades, willing them to merge. Then he pushed them together. They resisted for a moment, then flowed into each other, glowing white. Lloyd, holding the hilts, felt them merge under his grip. Then the glow faded, and Lloyd was holding the huge purple broadsword.

Origin's voice came out of the air. "Yes? What does the master of this sword want?"

"Origin? I wish to speak with Kratos—like I did last time."

Origin considered it, then finally said, "Very well. He is within the range."

A glowing outline shimmered into the air. There was a moment, then Kratos, from the shoulders up, appeared in the outline.

"Lloyd?" He asked, seemingly momentarily startled. Then he smiled. "You look well."

Lloyd looked closely at the image of his blood father. He seemed...slightly different.

"Thanks, Kra...Dad," Lloyd had to make an effort to refer to his father as such without an effort. He'd spent too long calling him Kratos, then calling him enemy.

"Why did you call me?" Kratos asked.

"I wanted to talk. You might like to know the things I've been doing since I talked to you. I'm nearly at the end of my quest to rid the world of Exspheres. We've got engineers planning a new mechanism for the Tethe'alla Bridge."

Kratos nodded, smiling. "You're doing well. Do you have any other new?"

Lloyd hesitated. "Kr—Dad, did you know anybody named Moirus thu Radlon?"

Kratos' eyes went flat. "How did you find out that name?" He asked quietly.

"We...sorta met him. Only he's a skeleton, and likes to be called Ribs now."

"I want to hear this," Kratos said in a tight voice.

Lloyd paused, gathering his thoughts. "Well...the King of Tethe'alla sent me to deal with a bunch of Exsphere-using bandits. Me, Sheena, and Zelos ran into them in Gaoracchia Forest. The leader and the rest ran away, but they left behind this walking skeleton to delay us. We fought—he's very good—and then he pinned Zelos. Then he said he wanted to talk to me."

"Said? A skeleton speaking?" Kratos asked suspiciously.

"He got the point across. He has a piece of slate and a pencil, and at first he wrote on that. Anyway, he helped us find the bandits again, and, er, uh...I got kinda hurt in the fight."

"Kind of hurt?" Kratos repeated.

Sheena pushed Lloyd out of the way and looked at Kratos. "He got his chest sliced open and continued fighting. Your brave son almost bled to death, but Ribs, Zelos, and I nursed him back to health."

Kratos' flinty expression softened. "I see. Then what did you do next?"  
Lloyd took his place again. "After I got better, we went to Meltokio. We met Athan there."

"Athan?"

"He's a monk from the Conversant Monastery. And we eventually found out he's Sheena's brother."

Kratos frowned. "He's from the Monastery? What did he want?"

"Actually, he wanted the story of how we rejoined the two worlds. He didn't know he was Sheena's brother until he'd been with us a while.

"Then Ribs wanted to go see Yggdrasill, the tree, and Martel showed up and he remembered who he was and what he'd done." Lloyd paused. "He told us you and Yuan killed him."

His face expressionless, Kratos nodded. "We did. Martel was very dear to us, especially Yuan."

"Anyway, he told us what he'd done and he seemed very upset over it. He says now he has to help rid the world of Exspheres, because he sorta caused them to be used."

Kratos thought it over. "That may be true. Mithos was never entirely sane after Moirus murdered Martel. And his insanity led to the human ranches."

"Anyway, Athan had suggested we go to the dwarves, so we went to Dad's and asked him how to get to a dwarf city. Since we had time, we swung around Sylvarant and checked on things there. Athan took us to the Monastery to let us use the library there—"

"_What?_ Where—how--?" Kratos spluttered.

"What is it, Dad?" Lloyd asked.

"Where's the Monastery?" Kratos asked when he'd gotten his composure back.

"It's on one of those islands in the Flanoir region."

Kratos snorted. "Hmph. The only place I didn't look..."

"What?"

"Mithos sent me to try to locate the Monastery. It'd been hidden for long before the Ancient War. I spent about two hundred years searching for it off and on."

"Well, he took us there, and we met some people and picked up a couple of books on engineering. Then we headed underground and went to Ganogrin. Because I'm technically a member of a dwarf clan, they were glad to help, and they loaned us some dwarven engineers. We brought them up here, took them to Meltokio, and then the king sent us to Sybak. Now the dwarves are in a meeting with the people here. And I though I'd talk to you."

"How long have you been at this?" his father asked.

Lloyd thought about it. "Most of a month." He said.

Kratos smiled briefly. "Sounds like you're having a good month." Then his face became serious. "Lloyd, are you sure you can trust Moirus?"

His son nodded. "Absolutely. He made a vow to help me, and used magic to reinforce it. And he's saved my life and led us through the underground. I think he's truly sorry for what he did. He said he hates the person he was when he was alive."

Kratos sighed. "Normally, I'd say to be on your guard, but people seem to return your trust, Lloyd. Even I did—eventually." He smiled. "Is that all of it?"

"Just about. There's a lot more to the story, but that's mostly just what people said and little things that happened." Lloyd thought of something. "Dad, do you ever shave?"

Kratos gave his son a strange look. "Why do you ask?"

"Just something I was wondering."

Kratos nodded. "Well, no, I don't. I've never been able to grow a beard. My father couldn't grow one, either."

Lloyd had a faint shock as he realized that Kratos must have been young once, too. He'd never thought about it. "What was your family like, Dad?" He asked with a lump in his throat.

Kratos gathered his memories. "Well, my father was a merchant and my mother baked bread and cakes for other people in our neighborhood, but never for money..."

And then Lloyd and Sheena listened to tide of familial memories.

**Sheena was thoughtful when she came out of the basement with Lloyd. **"Kratos doesn't seem so hard now."

"Hard?" Lloyd asked her curiously.

"That's something I always thought about him. When I started traveling with you guys, he always looked like you could crack rocks on him. He never really opened up around us—not often, anyway. It's like he saved it up for you."

The image of a cold moonlit night in a desert town flitted through Lloyd's memory. And the times Lloyd trained with him... "Yeah, you're right. He did always act like the man of stone—except with me."

"He's lost of a lot of that now. I guess he doesn't need it."

He looked a bit different, too."

"Older."

They came out of the stairwell leading to the basement, to find their friends standing in the hallway.

"We-ell!" Zelos grinned. "Looks like the lovebirds came back! May I ask what you were doing?"

"Talking with Kratos," Lloyd told him flatly.

"What'd he say?" Raine asked.

Lloyd shrugged. "I told him what we've done. He said he was proud of me."

Raine nodded, smiling. "Anyway, we were looking for you. The engineers have a plan drawn up. They want to show it to the King, and say they'll leave us if we don't hurry."

Lloyd grinned, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. "Finally! Let's go!"


	19. Hero's Reward

Chapter 19: Hero's Reward

Author's note: My apologies for taking so long to turn this one out. I've been taking a break from writing for a while—and the fact that I kept losing my rough drafts didn't help, either.

**They landed outside of Meltokio**. After they helped Ribs into his costume, three men, three women, three dwarves and the walking skeleton went into the bustling city.

There were met by Sebastian, Zelos' butler. The exquisitely formal man bowed to Zelos. "Sir, His Majesty the King had begged me to inform you of a dinner party to held tonight at the reception center. He says Mr. Irving can present the plans to him there."

Lloyd looked at Zelos. "That would make it a formal party, right?"

The former Chosen nodded. "All of the King's parties are."

Lloyd ran an eye over the party. "Most of us will be okay, but what about Elpida and Athan?"

"Huh?" Elpida looked around at the mention of her name. "What about me?"  
"We're going to a dress party tonight."

Her green eyes widened. "I don't have anything to wear!" she said in horror.

Sheena patted her. "Don't worry. I know a place." She looked at Zelos. "I'll need your signet again."

"Every girl ought to have something nice to wear," Zelos said pompously as he undid the catch on his necklace.

Elpida's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I have nothing nice?"

"Er...uh...ah...no..." He gave up and held out the ring. "Just take this and forget I said that, okay?'

"Oh, so you don't _want_ me to have anything nice, is that it?" She reversed direction in the blink of an eye. She snatched the ring up. "Come on, Sheena. I feel the urge to get something expensive." She swept off, a very neat trick for a girl five feet tall, followed by a grinning Sheena.

**Up at Zelos' Mansion, there was a run on baths.** There were exceptions—Ribs didn't need one, and the dwarves refused point-blank. But Lloyd, Raine, Zelos, and Athan drew straws to see who would go last—Zelos's mansion on had three bathrooms.

Lloyd lost, and had to wait until somebody finished.

When he finally came into the front room of Zelos' mansion, adjusting his clothes, he was met by an almost disturbing sight.

Zelos was sitting backwards on a chair, straddling the back. And sitting in chair right behind him, Ribs and Athan, with an air of intense concentration, were bent over the red cascade of the noble's hair, and were weaving it into a thick braid.

Lloyd sat down, and watched the trio. "What," he asked cautiously, "Are you doing that for?"

Zelos spoke without moving his head. "It's the price of long hair, Lloyd. At formal parties, I can't be seen with my hair like it is normally."

"So why are _they_ braiding it?"

"Because I don't want to mess up on it. Quiet, Lloyd."

The three dwarves were in a corner, talking amongst themselves. Lloyd went over to them. Angus looked up at his adoptive kinsman. "Yeah?"

"What are you going to do for the party?"

"We'll be comin' along. I bet these people don't see many dwarves around here, so we don't hafta dress up."

"What about the plans for the bridge?"

"I'll hand 'em over to the king myself."

"Thanks, Angus."

"Don't worry about it, lad."

Raine came in, and surprisingly to Lloyd, didn't make any comment about the hair-braiding other than, "Good work."

The pair was just finishing up with Sheena and Elpida came back with a covered hanger. The small purple-haired woman examined the braid critically, then gave it a tug. "Good work," she told Athan and Ribs.

Zelos' breath hissed in his teeth. "Don't do that, Elpida."

"But it's like a bell pull!" She said winsomely. "It's all pretty and decorative and you want to pull it! Will it make a pretty sound?"

Zelos scowled. "Whatever, Elpida. You two had better get ready. If you start now, we should make it to the party on time."

**The friends ambled along next door. **Lloyd considered his friends as they went through the street to the reception center.

Sheena was gorgeous, wearing what she'd gotten at that party two years ago. Fair was fair, he was wearing his outfit from that, too.

Zelos was looking dashing in his...well, Lloyd assumed it was some kind of tuxedo. Raine was serenely elegant in her coat and skirt and small spectacles. Athan's preparations had consisted of putting on a pair of pants that weren't travel-stained and a new sash around his waist. Ribs was wearing his whole black outfit; hat, mask, coat, gloves, boots, and pants. The dwarves had combed their beards and did a quick spiff-up before leaving, and Elpida...

His musing were broken off as they came into the reception center. The doorman said, "Ah, Lord Zelos. I shall announce all of you, individually or in groups, as you choose. Line up in an orderly fashion."

They got it sorted out fairly quickly. Zelos went first ("May I present the Princess Guard, and Grand Champion, Zelos Wilder!") Then Lloyd and Sheena came in, arm in arm, to the polite applause of the attending nobles.

Walking at a regal pace, they went down the center aisle of the room to meet the King. Lloyd noticed Zelos stood along a table at one side.

"Nice going," the King muttered when they were in front of him. "You've done well."

"Thanks," Lloyd said. Then he and Sheena moved over to stand beside Zelos.

"May I present the Crimson Rose, the Gladiator Queen, Raine Sage!" the herald boomed.

When Raine reached the king, the aging man muttered something to her; her rich laughter came over the buzz of conversation.

Now Angus and his associates came in. The herald proclaimed, "May I present Angus Irving, head of the Ganogrin holding of Clan Irving, Reuben Irving, Senior Engineer, and Alcus McDoug, Senior Engineer."

The three dwarves, Angus leading and carrying a roll of paper, advanced to stand in front of the king, then bowed low. Angus straightened, presented the roll to the king, and bowed again. Then Angus and his friends took their place in the line.

"May I present Athan Donu, he who is called Dragon, and emissary of the Conversant Monastery." Athan came in, straight-backed and walking with the grace of a trained fighter. With a hint of amusement, Lloyd noticed how many of the ladies present watched his progress across the floor intently.

"Your Majesty, may I present the Baron of Notnberg." Ribs, long coat swishing, treaded down the aisle. He bowed to the king. Then, to the mild shock of the regular members of the court, drew his battered black sword and saluted the monarch with it. The king relaxed after a brief tense moment, and nodded back. Ribs sheathed his sword, then went to join his friends.

The herald appeared very shaken now. "Your Majesty, may I present the Shimmering Hope, her Ladyship Iris Elpida." And Elpida came in.

Her dress was pure white, much paler than even her skin, and her silky purple hair was worn loose, the faintly wavy cascade hanging to below her shoulders. Her dress was much simpler than most of the others there. The left shoulder was covered, but the cut of the dress left her right shoulder bare. Similarly, the ruffled skirt of the dress stopped at just above her right knee, but slanted down to mid-shin of her left leg. Her circlet, made of some bluish-silver metal, looked vaguely familiar to Lloyd.

Her face completely serene, she paced down the aisle, to stop before the king. Her face oddly blank, she curtseyed with exquisite grace. As he turned to take her place in the line, the silence from the members of the court could have been that of the void between the stars.

The king stood up. "Guests, I welcome you," he said, but his voice carried to the whole of the room. Lloyd understood he was putting on a show for his court.

"And, Lloyd Irving, it is you I welcome most of all. Two and a half years ago, you arrived in Tethe'alla and caused much upheaval to accomplish a goal you believed in absolutely. Misguided by certain counsels, I resented your intrusion in my realm. Now, however, I have come to realize the truth of you.

"You sought only a better world, and you achieved that goal. And now you continue to work for the correction of past mistakes. These plans," the king held up the roll of paper, "are another step towards that better world you imagine. I am now convinced that you have the best interests of the entire world at heart. Therefore, that part of the world called Tethe'alla shall reward you. Approach me, Lloyd Irving."

Nervous and unsure of what to expect, Lloyd stumbled forward to stand before the monarch.

"I shall require a blade, Lloyd. Whichever of the pair you value more."

Hesitatingly, Lloyd drew Flamberge, the curving flame blade bestowed by Kratos. He reversed the sword and offered the hilt to the king. Taking the sword in hand, the King nodded. "Kneel, Lloyd."

Lloyd went down on one knee. The king raised the sword. "For services to Tethe'alla and the whole world, I honor you." He tapped the red-glowing blade twice, once on each shoulder. "I dub thee, Sir Lloyd, Knight of Tethe'alla." The members of the court gasped. The king ignored them, and continued. "I go even further in honor of you. You shall be the Preceptor of a new order of knights—you shall be a knight and a lord of knights. Arise, Lord Sir Irving."

His brain in a daze, Lloyd got to his feet awkwardly. With surprising expertise, the king reversed Flamberge, and offered the hilt across his forearm. Lloyd took his blade, and managed to sheath it on his first try, to his surprise.

The king swept his gaze over the assembled nobles. "Come forth and pay your respects to his Lordship, Sir Lloyd!" he ordered.

Still in a kind of shock, Lloyd only vaguely realized he had a line forming in front of him. Some part of his brain that was still working murmured the right things to the offered congratulations. Eventually, however, something nudged him into awareness.

"Excuse me?" he asked, focusing for the first time on the person in front of him.

"I merely asked if my Lord Knight would like to come to my residence for tea tomorrow." Maline stood in front of him, her exquisite face locked in a winsome smile. Her voice could have greased axles.

"Er..." Some instinct made him say, "No, thank you. I believe I'll be very busy with the bridge over the next two weeks."

"As your Lordship wishes." She gave him an odd look that made him feel uncomfortable, then left.

Lloyd's friends were at the back of the line. Zelos was the first to come up to him. "Congratulations, Sir Knight."

Lloyd winced. "Don't call me that."

Zelos nodded and grinned. "I have some good advice for you."

"Let's hear it."

"Stick with Sheena."

"What?"

"You're now the most eligible bachelor in Meltokio—except possibly for me. You saw how Maline was looking at you?"

Lloyd shuddered. "Yes."

Zelos nodded. "Stick with Sheena," he repeated.

Athan, the next in line, clapped Lloyd on the shoulder and congratulated the freshly-minted knight. Raine hugged her former student, and Lloyd noticed she was holding back tears. Elpida congratulated him warmly, and Angus told him gruffly that he was as proud as he'd ever been.

Finally, Sheena came up. She hugged him warmly, and kissed his cheek. "If anyone deserves it, you do, Lloyd. I love you."

Before she'd had a chance to leave him, the King came up. "Lloyd, could you lead the dancing?"

Lloyd looked at Sheena. "Would my lady care to dance?" he asked a bit playfully.

"Of course," she said with a smile.

At the king's signal, a team of servants pulled the tables back, and then the musicians struck up a waltz. In front of everyone, Lloyd and Sheena paced each other was they wheeled around the floor.


	20. A Moonlit Walk

Chapter 20: Work begins

**After Lloyd and Sheena had the first dance, everybody else came onto the floor.** Lloyd found himself being passed from woman to woman.

As soon as he gave the concluding bow to Sheena, Maline came up. Lloyd couldn't see any polite way to turn her down, he had to suffer through a couple of excruciating minutes avoiding her conversational hooks; now that Zelos had tipped him off, it was easy to see what she was up to.

After Maline came an assortment of noblewomen of various ages. The conversation with them ranged from a simple congratulations at the start and thank-you after the end, to careful questions and baited statements as cunning as Maline's.

Then Raine asked him out onto the floor. She turned out to be very serious. "You'll probably get some land with this title, Lloyd."

Lloyd frowned, his feet carrying him on automatic. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted.

"Well, start thinking about it," she commanded with a faint smile.

His next dance partner was Princess Hilda herself. Lloyd instantly became more wary, but she said to him, "Father wants to see you tomorrow morning."

"Er...I'll be there."

She nodded and smiled. Then she widened her eyes. "Look at Zelos," she said.

Lloyd glanced surreptitiously around the floor. He saw Zelos dancing with Elpida. They were both doing very well, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. However, the bald fact was that Zelos was a foot taller than his dancing partner; that was strange enough, but the contrast in their hair color and clothing added to the oddness of the scene.

"She's very beautiful," Hilda noted. "The noblewomen here have been chewing on their livers ever since she came in."

"I—I guess so," Lloyd stammered.

She smiled at him. "Poor, innocent boy. You _do_ realize that many of the ladies here are making elaborate plans to try to snare your heart, don't you?"

Lloyd nodded. "I just wish I knew why."

"A commoner can choose to marry or not, as it suits him. But nobility have some obligations. You're also the start of a new noble family, and any woman you marry is going to be the first mother of a new noble house. That means you're now a very good catch."

Lloyd blushed. "But, well, uh, I haven't ever really thought about marrying."

"You'd better start thinking about it—you can be sure that Maline and Alia and the others have it on their minds."

"Thanks, your Highness," Lloyd said with a faint smile.

Now that'd he'd danced with every woman present, he found Sheena, and invited her out on the floor again.

"Have fun?" She asked with a slight edge in her voice.

Lloyd decided that being _mostly_ honest was the course of wisdom here. "I really wish I could get this over with. Maline and a couple of the younger ladies keep trying to get me interested in them. Raine wasn't too bad—but she told me that I'll probably be getting land with this title. Then Princess Hilda danced with me just to let me know the king wants to see me tomorrow. I don't really want to dance with them, but I think I'm expected to. I just want to _leave_..."

A bit of the edge went out of her. "Why don't we let one of the others know, then sneak off? We can go back to Zelos' place first."

It turned out to be fairly easy to sneak off. Lloyd found Athan, and informed him of their impending departure. Then he and Sheena left by the front door.

They wandered through the cool night air to Zelos' mansion. After they'd changed into their more comfortable, normal clothes, the couple met again.

"What do you want to do?" Lloyd asked the dark-haired woman.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"I'm too hyped up," he admitted. "I want to do something to burn off some energy. Want to go for a walk around the city?"

A nod, a smile. "Sure."

Outside, they passed the reception center, an island of light and noise in the night. As they walked by it, Sheena said, "We've come a long way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I started off as your enemy...then I joined your group, and I turned out to be instrumental in reuniting the worlds. And you and I have been pretty much living together on the road for the past two years. Oh, and now I have a brother after being alone for most of my life."

"You're right," Lloyd said with a smile. "And look at me. I started out thinking I'd live my whole life in Iselia. Then one thing led to another and I reunited the two worlds. And it gets more complicated when you think about Kratos and the Eternal Sword and my quest to destroy all the Exspheres... And now I'm a 'Lord Knight'..."

She looked at him in the moonlight. "I think you've changed more than any of the rest of us."

"Well, yeah...didn't I just say that?" he asked, a bit confused.

"I don't mean that. I meant, when I first met you, you were rash...and naive. Not stupid, but a bit slow on the uptake, and mostly uneducated. You've gotten more clever and mature since then."

They turned a corner to go down the steps to the central plaza of the city.

"I—I guess so," he said. "But that's nothing special. I've been spending a lot of time around clever people, and I've dealt with stuff that made me grow up."

Sheena nodded. "Let's sit down," she pointed at a bench. Without waiting for an answer, she went over to it and sat.

Lloyd followed, and eased down beside her. She immediately leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder.

Lloyd tensed, being by nature someone who couldn't easily engage in public affection. A quick glance around showed they were alone. He relaxed a bit, and put an arm around her shoulder. He was surprisingly comfortable. Eventually, Sheena murmured, "How do you feel about this whole knighthood thing?"

"I—" he broke off, and thought a bit. "I'm not sure. It's an honor, I know. But does it mean I have to do certain things?"

Oh, _man_. That thought came back to him. He was now an Eligible Bachelor...he'd have to say out of the nobles' quarter or only go into it in disguise, like Ribs.

Sheena's voice came into his internal monologue of dread.

"Yeah, I can imagine that. Anything else?"

"Raine figured I'll be given some land in this deal. The princess said the king wanted to see me; I guess that's why."

"That might be nice—you could build a house how you wanted it."

"I hadn't thought about that," he admitted. Still, the idea that he was expected to marry somebody, and the predatory young noblewomen of the court worried him. He felt he should change it to another subject. "I'm hungry. Do you want to get something at a shop or something?"

"Sounds nice," she smiled.

They wandered down the to the commercial quarter, and eventually found a bakery that hadn't closed yet. The baker was only too happy to sell the "charmin' young couple" a couple of pastries he'd made earlier and kept warm.

It wasn't bad, Lloyd thought as he bit into the thick apple filling. He'd eaten much worse food than this.

Sheena chewed, swallowed, and said, "Mm. What flavor is yours?"

"Apple. What about yours?"

"Cherry. Want to try a bit?" She broke off a piece and held it up questioningly.

Lloyd reached for it—cherry was a weakness of his. She moved it out of his reaching, grinning. "Give me a piece of yours, and we'll call it a deal."

Lloyd broke off a bit of his, and traded. This, he reflected as he chewed, was the work of a good baker. He'd have to visit the establishment more often in the future.

Licking stickiness from their fingers in the absence of napkins, they walked along without conversation. Lloyd's thoughts went back to his dilemma. Should he tell her he was supposed to get married and possibly get that much pressure on himself, or keep quiet and risk hurting her?

He couldn't see any clear solution—until a thought came to him, and immediately went into his mouth without checking in with his brain.

"Sheenwannamaremee?" The words came out in a rush. Lloyd realized in horror that he'd said that. But now that he'd said it, he could see how this was a solution—and something he'd have done anyway. But as the silence went on, he began to feel like a bucket of ice had fallen into his stomach.

Finally, Sheena asked, "What did you say?"

"Um. Sheena, will you marry me?" He said it clearly this time, and a bit apologetically.

"Why are you asking me now?" she asked after a long moment.

"Well...uh...they said now that I'm nobility and head of a noble family and stuff, I have to get married. And...welll...I can't imagine marrying anyone but you." He blushed in the moonlight. "I love you Sheena, and, er, well..."

"You're asking me to marry you because you think you _have_ to get married?" There was an edge in her voice.

"No! It's not that! It's just...well..." He sketched in the facts of his eligibility—knighthood, land, prestige for his wife. "And I don't want any of that to be a part of why a woman wants to marry me. The thought of Maline and the others hounding me has been worrying me all night. I want someone to marry me to be because they love me, and I want to marry somebody because I love them. Knighthood or no knighthood, I love you, and...I think I would have asked you sooner or later anyway. So I figured now was as good a time as any."

Sheena was quiet for a while. Then she laughed, and hugged Lloyd. "You could have asked me better--but if you did, I guess you wouldn't Lloyd." She gave him a slightly sticky, cherry-tinged kiss. "Alright, Lloyd. I'll be your wife—but the wedding had better make up for the proposal." She released him, and punched his shoulder.

A weight lifted off his chest. He absently rubbed at his shoulder. "But don't we need a ring or something?"

"I don't mind—for now. We can get those later."

Lloyd thought of something. "Should we tell the others?"

"I think so. They're our friends, and Athan is my family," Sheena said.

Lloyd put an arm around the shoulder of his...what was that word?..._fiancée_. They wandered through the streets, taking their time. As they walked, they discussed tentative wedding ideas, and the party they had left. They also speculated about their friends' probable reactions.

They went around most of the city—the commercial quarter, the coliseum, the residential areas. Eventually they came back to the nobles' quarter.

The reception center was dark and quiet. With a mild shock, Lloyd realized they'd be out walking for almost an hour.

Their friends were sitting around Zelos' front room, talking. When they came in, Zelos was the first to look up. "Well, _heeyyy_," he said slyly. "It's the lovebirds! Where'd you two go, exactly? Let's hear all the details, okay?"

Lloyd gave Sheen an exasperated look. "Do I have to tell all of them? Or can I send Zelos out?"

"_All _of them, Lloyd," Sheena said warningly.

"Okay, okay..." He took a deep breath. "Everyone...I've asked Sheena to marry me...and she said 'yes.' "

There was a moment while this sunk in. Then the happy couple were almost swarmed under by caring friends offering congratulations, hugs, handshakes, or all three.

Athan was laughing as he hugged both his sister and his incipient brother-in-law. "My, doesn't the family just grow!"

Ribs shook Lloyd's hand, and hugged Sheena. Then he got out his slate, from where the pouch lay on the table, and scribbled briefly. He gave it to them.

CONGRATULATIONS. MAY I DO THE WEDDING PORTRAIT AS A GIFT?

Lloyd remembered how skilled the warrior was with a pencil. "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Elpida squealed in delight. "_Oeueu_! I LOVE WEDDINGS!" She gave both of them a hug and a peck on the cheek.

Angus came up, and punched Lloyd in the shortribs. "Lad, you're a lucky man. You keep on being a credit to Clan Irving."

Lloyd remembered something—something that was said more than two years ago. "Oh, jeez," he told Sheena when everyone had given them some breathing room. "I'm a member of a dwarf clan, and after I marry you, I'll be part of Mizuho, won't I?"

She nodded. "And you'll be the husband of the Chief of Mizuho." She said it a bit smugly.

"And I'm a Lord Knight and a couple of other things besides. I wish I could just be Lloyd."

Zelos, standing nearby, nodded. "Fair enough. When I was the Chosen, I spent a lot of time wishing I could be Zelos. By the way, the king says he wants to see you tomorrow morning at nine."

"I heard," Lloyd said. "But that's tomorrow. I'm going to bed now."


	21. First Day of Knighthood

Chapter 21: First Day of Nobility

**Sheena woke up early despite it having been a fairly late night.** She sat up, and looked at the room's other bed. Lloyd was gone.

It was early, she thought. He'll be around. She got out of bed and into her day clothes. Then she wandered through Zelos' house.

She found Lloyd, Zelos, Angus, and, a bit surprisingly, Elpida in the front room, all apparently searching for something. "Morning," Sheena said. "What're you all doing?"

Lloyd looked up from where he was probing the recesses of the sofa.

"Helping Elpida look for a ring."

The small young woman stood up. "Yeah. Have you seen it? It's made out a greenish metal, and it's sorta long."

Sheena frowned. "I think I've seen that before."

Zelos nodded. "We both though that, but we can't find it."

"I'll help," Sheena said, bending to look under a table.

Ten fruitless minute later, Lloyd straightened up and rubbed at his back. "Hey, Zelos, when's breakfast?"

"Seeing as how it's the cook's day off, I'd say as soon as somebody fixes it. Thanks for volunteering, Sir Knight."

Lloyd groaned. Sheena patted his shoulder consolingly. "I'll help."

And so it was that Tethe'alla's newest knight spent his first morning as a bona fide nobleman in a kitchen, frying a couple dozen slices of bacon, cooking a large pot of oatmeal, and making a small mound of toast.

The smells of plain, homestyle, stick-to-the-ribs cooking filtered through the house. As the others came awake, they drifted down to the kitchens. Ribs, without his hat or mask, even leaned in the corner, drawing something on paper while using his slate to press against. However, after Elpida filched her third slice of bacon, he was drafted into service as a guard, and posted at the door to the kitchen.

When breakfast was done, the group gathered around the long, formal table in Zelos' dining room. Sebastian the butler even joined them.

As everyone was busy eating their fill and talking, the staid and proper man prodded at his bowl of oatmeal. "What is this foodstuff," he asked Elpida, sitting next to him.

"Oh, that's oatmeal. You eat it with a spoon. Try some."

Sebastian cautiously sampled a spoonful. "Rather bland," he said as he pushed the bowl away.

"Then you want it like this," the tiny, bubbly teenager said, grabbing a cinnamon sifter from the closest condiment rack. She gave it a few vigorous shakes over his bowl, then dumped a spoonful of sugar on top of the cinnamon. "Stir it up," she ordered imperiously.

Shocked to his core, Sebastian followed the voice of authority and stirred the mix into his bowl. When it was mixed to her satisfaction, Elpida nodded. "Try another spoonful," she commanded in the certainty that she'd be obeyed.

Sebastian gulped. "My word. That was much more worthwhile. Thank you miss," he added as he loaded another spoonful.

The bubbly young lady laughed and half-rose from her chair to kiss Sebastian's cheek. "You're such a _dear_ man!" She looked further down to the table. "Zelos!" she called mischieviously. "I'm going to steal your butler, all right?"

Zelos nodded back at her. "Go ahead!"

After breakfast, Lloyd went out to the front room to wait a few minutes before going to the castle. Sheena and Angus found him on the couch, staring at the ceiling. When they came near him, he lowered his gaze. "Hi. You both want to come with me?"

Sheena nodded. "Ready when you are."

Lloyd glanced at the clock. "Let's go."

**The doors swung open and the guard stepped in.** "Your Majesty, may I present the Eternal Swordsman, Reuniter of the Worlds, the Lord Sir Lloyd Irving."

The king stood up as Lloyd and his friends came in. "Welcome, Sir Knight. Let us proceed to the Library where we may converse in private."

"That was swift," Sheena murmured to Lloyd.

A couple of minutes saw them into the Library. The King, as usual, limped over to the table, removed his crown, and sat down with a slight groan. "Congratulations, Sir Knight."

Lloyd winced. "Please don't call me that, your Majesty. I'm not used to it."

"I'm helping to wear the shock off," the King grinned. "Anything you want to talk about before were settle into serious business?"

"Yes, your Majesty. Why did you give me this title?"

The King rubbed at his beard. "I suppose you should know. All right.

"Partly, it was because if anyone deserves, you do. If my underlings had half of your nobility and conviction, I wouldn't need to be as manipulative of them, because they'd do what needed to be done without having to be tricked or led into it.

"Another part is this is my way of aiding your cause."

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked curiously.

"I happen to believe in what you do. I think that you're right, and I trust you. I won't be around forever, though, and some future ruler—maybe even the next one—may want to reopen Exsphere research and use, and enact another set of anti-half-elf laws. You are a knight, and the Lord of a new order of knights. You can arrange it so that your knights will continue your work long after you and I are gone."

Angus nodded. "Lad, he's given you a great gift. This is a good man we've before us."

Lloyd nodded. He held out a hand to the king. "Thank you, your Majesty."

The king nodded and smiled. He reached out and shook Lloyd's hand. "You're welcome, Sir Knight." Then he coughed politely. "Now I must raise a subject of some delicacy. Since you are now obviously in my favor, and you've earned nobility instead of being born to it, you're now the sole topic of conversation among the noblewomen. You might want to give serious consideration to asking a nice young lady to be your wife—you'll have no peace, otherwise."

Lloyd also gave a small cough, and colored up. "Ah, uh, I've already asked Sheena to marry me."

"And she agreed? Well, congratulations to the both of you. Maybe you're not quite as innocent as I thought."

Sheena and Lloyd shared a glanced at the memory of Lloyd's out-of-the-blue proposal the previous night. Sheena kept mercifully silent, but her eyes twinkled.

Apparently unaware of the unspoken communication, the King nodded. "Well, I'll put out the word that you're spoken for. In a couple of days, you'll be left alone."

"Now for the serious business. Along with this title, I'm granting you a small estate to the northwest of here—in the forest by that river. It's undeveloped, so you get to what you want. I'll pay for any construction you do. You'll need a coat of arms, too. Then there's the Knighthood itself. I'll need a name, and a list of vows and precepts and so on for your knights. You can give them to me in a few days, if you want time to think about it." The king smiled. "That about wraps it up."

In the silence, Angus cleared his throat. "Yer Majesty, I'd like to talk to you after this."

The King nodded. "Lloyd, you and Sheena don't need to stay here if you don't want to."

Sheena glanced at her fiancé. "I'd like to leave."

"Me, too," Lloyd said, standing up.

Word of their arrival must have spread a bit, because Maline was waiting outside the Library.

"My Lord Knight," she said in a voice dripping with honeyed flattery. "Such a surprise to see you here."

Sheena stiffened. "Maline, why don't you stay away from Lloyd? He doesn't want you around and all three of us here know what you're trying to do."

Maline gave her a sneer. "How would a sneaky _tramp_ from Mizuho even presume to think she knows the mind of Lord Irving?" She turned to Lloyd. "Come, Sir Knight, let us leave this low-born _streetwalker._"

Lloyd glanced at Sheena, and saw the tears in her brown eyes. Vaguely, he realized that Sheena must have had to deal with stuff like this every time she met one of noblewomen right here. And, he noted in a kind of detachment, Sheena was edging her hand towards the pouch that she kept her cards in. He could be looking at a murder right here, and he was inclined to let it happen. But he heard his mouth say, "No, Maline. Not with you. _Never_ with you."

"I don't understand," Maline said, still trying to smile at him.

Lloyd heard his mouth say, "Let me spell it out, Maline. You disgust me. Dealing with you makes me feel like I need a bath afterwards. You're a parasite. You're so much like a tick I'm surprised you don't live off of blood. You're only after me because, right now, I'm the talk of Meltokio. And then _you_ have the nerve to insult Sheena, and you're so self-centered that you thought I'd agree and leave Sheena for you. You make me ashamed to be called human, you know that, Maline? You think beauty and a title is everything. Maline, you're beautiful, and you're nobility, but, you know what? You don't have a chance with me. You never did. For your information, I've asked Sheena to marry me, and she agreed. If you keep coming after me, Sheena will kill you, and I _won't_ try to stop her."

Maline was in tears. She started to say something, but, in an instant, Lloyd was holding Flamberge. "GO AWAY!" he roared.

She stumbled backwards, and then turned and hurried off as fast as her skirts would allow.

Lloyd stood there, a haze clearing from his vision. Then someone slapped him on the back. He turned—to see one of the king's guards, visor raised, grinning at him.

"Good job," the man offered. "We all hate her, and it's good to see her get what she had coming to her."

Lloyd and Sheena left. When they were out of sight of the guards, Sheena sniffed. "Thanks, Lloyd."

For an answer, Lloyd hugged her. She stiffened slightly, then practically melted against him. He held her for a moment, then she pulled herself together, and nodded. "Let's get to Zelos' house," she told him.


	22. A vacation?

Chapter 22: A vacation?

**For the next several days, the dwarves went up to the castle every day to talk with the King. **For everyone else, there was not much to do, apart from marking time. The friends spent the days talking or walking around the busy capital city of Tethe'alla—except for Ribs and Athan, who made a trip to Coliseum to test their skills. That, however, is another story and may be told another time.

During that week, the only person who really _worked_ was Lloyd. The only times the group consistently saw their unofficial leader was breakfast and dinner and, even then, he didn't pay much attention to what was around him and ate while reading a book on chivalry and knighthoods. Occasionally, he'd accost one of his friends and ask them if they thought _this_ sounded better than _that_. He spent quite some time with paper and some pencils.

After four days of this, Elpida felt moved to comment on it. "He's being so serious," she told Sheena and Raine as they sat in Zelos' front room. "If he's not sleeping, he's reading one of those boring old books."

Sheena didn't seem too concerned with her fiancé's sudden fixation on the written word. "He'll get done with it. I think it'd be better if he'd just stay out of his way."

Elpida shook her head wonderingly. "I'm just surprised he hasn't taken a break."

Raine stared into space thoughtfully. "One thing you have to understand about Lloyd is that he's not strong academically. He doesn't have the patience to acquire knowledge just in case it comes in handy one day. He knows that. When I was teaching him, he applied himself to learning something if he could see a practical gain from it—or because it's fun or interesting for him. He learned to read and write because he could see the use of those skills, but he never wrote a paper or report I assigned to him. Addition and subtraction were useful for dealing with money, but he wasn't enthusiastic about multiplication or division. He threw himself into any exercises I taught them at PE—he's always been interested in making himself stronger." She paused for breath, and smiled slightly. "Oh, and he liked Art. But history, higher mathematics, and science lessons were mostly wasted on him."

Elpida frowned. "What's that got to do with right now?"

"For the first time, Lloyd's have to really wrestle with words. He's never had to deal with writing down exactly what he wants to say, clearly and without any room to misinterpret it. Personally, I want to leave him to it—I'm interested in seeing how he does on his own." The half-elf settled in further into the chair.

Lloyd's labors over the details of his knighthood lasted a week. When he came out of the room he'd made into what was, essentially, his lair, everybody else was eating lunch.

Lloyd's nose informed him Athan had been cooking—he could smell the seasonings and spices that went into most of Athan's dishes. It smelled that like meat-noodles-and-broth he made; Lloyd didn't know what the formal name for it was. The smell, however, woke Lloyd's stomach up, whereupon it informed him in no uncertain terms that he had been neglecting it. He padded down the steps, into the dining room where everybody was enjoying the meal. Salivating slightly, he asked plaintively, "Hey, can't I have a bowl?"

The group apparently hadn't noticed or expecting him, if the start of surprise everyone gave was any indication. ("I'm so sorry, Raine," Elpida said later. "I didn't mean to spill it on you like that.")

Zelos waved at him. "Good to see you! I thought you were dead. I was just discussing funeral arrangements with your hunny here."

"Shut it, Zelos," Lloyd told the grinning man shortly.

Sheena looked at Lloyd inquiringly. "Have you finished?"

"Yep," Lloyd proudly held up the few sheets of paper he'd brought down with him.

"Let's hear it!"

"Not until I get some of that, too. I'm starving."

Athan ladled up a bowl from the large pot in the middle of the table, and passed it along to an empty seat. Lloyd sat down to it and tucked in at an amazing pace.

After everyone finished, the silence was thick enough to float a brick as they watched Lloyd try to catch up. Apparently not noticing a combined stare that could fry an egg, Lloyd devoured all the noodles and meat, and then picked up the bowl, tilted it, and drank the broth like that.

The _clink_ as he set down the bowl seemed abnormally loud. He looked around at the staring faces. "What?"

The five shouted at him at once, "_LLOYD_!" Ribs, in his corner, watched with a certain amusement.

"Okay! You don't have to shout!" He pulled the paper to him.

"Um...right. The name of the knights will be the Knights of Yggdrasill, or the Kharlan Knights, and our sign will be the Great Tree. Our purpose is to fight against discrimination, care for the Great Tree, and keep the peace between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Our vows will be 'Never abandon someone in need,' 'Work together for a peaceful world,' 'Never idly accept or allow the sacrifice of someone's life,' and 'Never allow discrimination.'" He hesitated, and looked up at his friends. "Does that sound all right?"  
"It'll work," Zelos said in the silence. "What else do you have?"  
"We'll accept any race, and commoners aren't excluded. You don't have to be a fighter to be let in—you just have to have proved yourself as believing in what we do."

Zelos frowned. "People might not like that bit about commoners. I guess they'll get used to it."

"There's more stuff—about not letting Exspheres be used, and we're supposed to keep things from getting so bad that we have another Great War. We _don't_ need this all to happen again.

From his habitual place in the corner, Ribs nodded. He was in costume, apart from the mask and hat. _Definitely_, his hands said.

Lloyd squinted at the undead. "Ribs, I'd like you to do me a favor."

_Name it._

"Can you make my coat of arms and the crest of the Knighthood?"

The grinning skull nodded, and the gloved hands gave him a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, man." Lloyd stood up. "I think I'd better go to take this to his Majesty."

Sheena stood up. "I'll come—you owe me for this time you spent away from me."

**Outside Zelos' mansion, Sheena turned to Lloyd.** "Want to walk around a bit?"

Part of Lloyd's mind registered something in her tone, but the controlling part of his brain said, "I have to take this to—"

The dark-haired woman crossed her arms. "The King will be there, Lloyd."

That part of Lloyd's brain finally got control of his mouth. "I didn't think of it like that, Sheena—sure, let's go around."

They walked down to the commercial quarter, where all the interesting things were. Somehow, as they were passing the bakery they'd visited a week earlier, Sheena just _happened_ to mention that she had a craving for something sweet. Lloyd heard an inner voice go, "Hello-o-o! She's dropping hints! _Buy_ something! Pay attention to her!" Oddly enough, the inner voice seemed to sound much like Zelos. In response to its urgings, he said, "There's that bakery. Want to go in, love?" The term of endearment also was in response to that voice's advice; if the way she smiled at him was any indication, he'd have to use that trick more often.

When they came out, Sheena magnanimously broke the pastry Lloyd'd bought her in two, and gave him some. As they walked to nowhere special, Lloyd chewed reflectively, and swallowed. "It won't ever be the same, will it?"

Sheena swallowed hurriedly. "Huh?"

"Like you said the last time we walked out here. We've all come a long way. But a part of that means we can't go back."

They turned a corner. "You're right," Sheena said. "But...heh, this'll sound corny. But we'll be together when things change."

"Thanks," Lloyd said gratefully.

Sheena patted his cheek. After a moment, she said brightly, "Well, let's go see his Royal Slyness."

**A bit later, up at the castle, in the library, the King read through Lloyd's notes.** "You're being very...unconventional about this, you know."

"Yes, sir. I know. I read a few of the books on knights, and saw some mistakes people made with the other orders."

"Are you sure you want it like this?" the aging man asked intently.

"_Yes_, your Majesty. The Kharlan Knights, or the Knight of Yggdrasill, whatever you want to call us, will work for everything my friends and I have worked for, to make sure the same mistakes don't happen again."

The King smiled and nodded. "All right, Lloyd. I have to publicly ratify this. Anything you want to talk about before we lose all privacy?"

Lloyd glanced at Sheena questioningly. She shrugged almost imperceptibly.

"I don't think so, your Majesty."

The King's face had a suggestion of a smile, for only a moment. But, whatever amused him, he said, "Very well. Let's see to this, Sir Knight."

**An hour later, Lloyd come out of the castle, feeling...liberated.** "I'm glad that's over with," he confessed.

"Yeah...hey, Lloyd? Do you want to...take a vacation?"

"Huh?" Lloyd looked at his fiancée.

"You know, a break from all this?"

"But—"

"You're entitled to a bit of rest, Lloyd. It'll be fun!"

"Where would we go?"

"Altamira, maybe. But..." she shuffled her feet a bit guiltily. "I want to go back to the Monastery, too."

"Why—"

She let out a breath. "My mother's there. I want to meet her, Lloyd." When she looked at him, Lloyd realized something about his fiancée. She normally kept up a shell—a cheerful, friendly shell, but one that let her shrug off disappointments and protected her nonetheless. Right then, Sheena didn't have her shell. "I didn't go and see her last time we were there because there were things we had to do and I didn't want to get sidetracked or take a chance on something coming up to complicate things."

"Thank you," He told her quietly, realizing the sacrifice she'd made for the sake of him and his quest. "Is there anyone we should take with us?"

"Athan, for sure. And anyone who wants to go, I guess."

Lloyd smiled. Now that he thought about it, he realized he'd been wanting a break before another crisis came up. Sheena was at it again—she sometimes seemed to do a mind-reading act, knowing what he wanted or needed before he did. "Let's go tell them—I'll race you back to Zelos' house!"

Sheena's shell came back into place. She punched his shoulder. "You're on!"


	23. All the Little Angels

Chapter 23: All the little angels…

**_Author's Note_**_: Neither Wind nor Rain nor Lost Power nor Downed Phone Lines shall keep me from writing when I'm in the Mood. There's nothing else to do, anyway._

**Sheena's hand tagged the door of Zelos' mansion a half-second before Lloyd's.** "Beat you!" the dark-haired woman crowed.

"Aw, _man_," Lloyd hung his head. "Can't we do it again? I almost had you…"

"Nope," Sheena's grin was like the sun coming up. "You lost."

Inside the house, they found Zelos staring at the chess board that was always set up on the table. He looked up when they came in. "Oh. Hi! How'd it go?"

"Pretty good. The King approved the Order of Yggdrasill. Now I don't have much to do."

"We figured we should take a vacation, since we have the free time now," Sheena added.

"Oh? Where to?"

"Altamira and the Monastery. Wanna come along?" she said.

"Hell yeah!" Zelos stood up. "Sunny beaches! Hot chicks! Bathing suits!"

"Cool it, Zelos. We don't need you getting so excited at the thought of the beach that you get confused." Sheena said primly.

Zelos was grinning enormously. "Alright! I'll go let the others know!" He dashed off.

**It was a nice day to be flying. **The trip on the Rheairds was almost leisurely. They flew through skies devoid of cloud cover—a blessing that they appreciated enormously. Anyone who'd had to fly a Rheaird through the maw of a thunderstorm had a very strong desire to never do it again.

It took them most of the rest of the day to get to Altamira. To no great surprise of Lloyd's, everybody had elected to come along on the trip. Elpida had been as excited as Zelos at the thought of the beach.

However, when the group touched down outside of the city, two things became apparent. Thing One was that there were alarms screaming inside the city. Thing Two was that there was a crowd inside the gate of the city. The group let Ribs get into his costume, then approached the crowd. One man was running back and forth in a panic, shouting incoherently.

His path brought him by Athan. The fighting monk stopped him by the simple expedient of sticking out an arm. The man ran full-on into the arm, folding over it. Athan's arm didn't budge an inch. It must have felt like running into a steel girder.

The powerful monk picked up the man and thumped him on the back until he got his breath back. "Sorry about that," he said perfunctorily. "What's all the excitement about?"

"Monsters! On the beach!" the man gasped. "We'll never get them off! They'll be on the beach forever!" He sounded hysterical. And not entirely sane, but that's not unusual for people who end a sentence with more than one exclamation point.

Athan set the man down, and watched him run off. He turned to look at his friends. "What do we do about it?"

"We could go down there and take care of the problem," Lloyd said with exaggerated casualness. He was fighting a smile.

Sheena, apparently with no thought, pulled out her cards and began fanning herself with them.

Raine sighed. "You're all a bunch of children. Did it even occur to you to find out more about the situation before you rush in and kill everything?"

In the past couple of years, Lloyd had gotten older and, he hoped, a bit wiser. He could see the sense in Raine's approach. "You're right, Professor. I'll go ask around before we go down there. All of you stay here."

He shouldered his way through the crowd, keeping an eye out. He was rewarded with the sight of a couple of Lezareno employees standing off to the side, watching the crowd. In his experience, Regal's employees had a very good sense of what's going on. Besides, he was sure he recognized them.

"Excuse me," he said politely.

One of the men squinted at him. "Aren't you Lloyd Irving? One of Duke Regal's friends?"

"Yeah, I am." That made this easier, certainly. "I just got into town. What's this talk about monsters on the beach?"

The man's face became disgusted. "There's several dozen dozen mermaids on the beach. We had to close the beach. The ladies pretty enough, I guess, but they try to eat anybody who goes down there."

Lloyd was startled. "Eat?"

"Well, I _say_ eat. They have just enough to make sure the person won't have to worry about living. We were lucky this time. They didn't get anyone before we cleared the beach."

"It's happened before?"

"Every three or four years. We get people off the beach and get a bunch of mercenaries to come out and wipe them out. They won't leave otherwise."

Lloyd grinned. "Why don't we just save you the trouble? I'm sure we could take care of them."

The man grinned. "We'd be obliged, sir."

"Right. My friends and I will see what we can do."

He left the pair, going back through the crowd.

The employee who hadn't said anything looked at his friend accusingly. "Jeff! You didn't tell him that we have to hire only female mercenaries!"

Jeff looked stricken. "Er..." he said. He recovered after a moment. "Tom, I think he can handle it. That was Lloyd Irving. I heard that the King himself knighted him last week."

**"He said they show up every few years, and the city has to hire a bunch of mercenaries to get rid of them," Lloyd told his friends.**

Everyone turned to look at Raine. She threw up her hands. "All right! We'll go fight them. I guess there's no other way."

Grinning widely, Lloyd drew his swords. Athan began doing a few stretches. Sheena got out her cards smugly. Ribs drew his old sword and got his shield out of the Wing Pack. Zelos got his sword and shield together, then looked inquiringly at Elpida. "You should stay here," he told her.

"Awww! You're _worried_ about me!" She gushed. "That's so sweet! But don't worry, Fred, I'll be fine. I can fight. In fact, I bet I'll account for more kills than you."

**The party went down the steps to the beach.** Down there, they could see the mermaids further down the beach. Some were eating what looked to be fish, others were just basking in the sun, and the rest were engaged in conversation in some strange, singing, inhuman tongue.

As the party approached, one of the gorgeous, red-scaled fish women looked up at the group. She pointed, and called something out to her fellows. The mermaids all focused on the group. Slowly, they grinned.

The singing began with one mermaid near the back. Her voice rose and fell in a melodious, almost seductive tune. Then a few more joined in. Within thirty seconds of the first one starting, every mermaid was singing.

"What are they doing?" Sheena yelled to Raine.

"I don't know!"

Elpida grabbed at Sheena's arm. "Look at the guys!" She shouted.

Lloyd, Athan, and Zelos were standing absolutely still, with looks of dreamy pleasure on their faces.

"It's the song! It's affecting them!"

"Screw that!" Sheena snarled. "I'm not letting them get at Lloyd!" She advanced towards the fish-women.

…The song became a little harsher, the tone a little darker…

Lloyd, his face still dreamy, ran at Sheena. Raine noticed the movement. "SHEENA! LOOK OUT!"

Sheena turned to see the Vorpal Sword coming at her face. She tensed herself—but the razored blue-glowing edge stopped a hairs-breadth from her face.

Jerkily, his other arm rose, swung Flamberge at her—and also stopped. Sheena, not daring to move, watched Lloyd's face.

He still wore that vague, happy expression, but a twitch was working at the corner of his faint smile. As she watched, it became more pronounced. Then his whole expression tensed. When it cleared, his eyes weren't glazed and he wasn't smiling. He lowered the swords, his face anguished.

"Sheena, I'm sor—" he began.

"There's no time! Look!" She pointed over his shoulder.

He turned to look. Zelos, his great sword held at the ready, was advancing on Raine. Athan was trying to get close to Elpida, but she was dashing around a table, keeping it between him and her.

"Help Raine!" Sheena told him, already dashing towards her brother.

Lloyd got a good run-up. Zelos, his back to Lloyd and his sword raised, didn't see him coming. Just as the charmed Chosen was about to swing at Raine, Lloyd tackled him from behind, knocking him into the wet sand.

"Professor! Help me!" Lloyd yelled, wrestling with Zelos. Skinny though the red-headed man's frame may have been, he had a wiry strength to him. Lloyd felt he was only barely stronger than the former Chosen. Somehow, Zelos managed to turn himself over and, his dreamy expression still serene, he grabbed Lloyd's throat. Lloyd gritted his teeth against the feeling of Zelos' fingers digging into his neck, and punched the redhead right in the eye. He felt Zelos' grip weaken for a moment, and hammered Zelos again—once, twice. Zelos' expression clouded for a moment, and he clutched at his face. Then Raine was there, grabbing Zelos' arms, and between the human and the half-elf, they managed to get Zelos on his front again, where Raine hauled his arms into a painful-looking lock.

"Go help Sheena!" Raine said. "I've got him!"

Lloyd levered himself up out of the sand, and ran over to where Athan was, without much visible effort, dodging Sheena's attacks.

Tackling Athan did not work as well as it had on Zelos. The man was a bit on the short side, yes, but he was naturally broad-shouldered and, furthermore, covered with muscles as solid as a plank. Lloyd felt like he'd tried to take down a tree. The impact managed to knock Athan off his feet, but Lloyd was more than smart enough to not try grappling with the tattooed fighter. He rolled away immediately, and scrambled up to his feet to get back into the fray.

Ribs was not affected by the mermaids' song. It appealed to instincts, urges, and, well, body parts that he didn't have any more. He thought about joining in with his friends, but concluded that attacking the mermaids would have more effect. He turned his attention to them.

He let his common vision unravel, and felt around with the inside of his skull, feeling for the mana….

Let's see…the big, glowing nebulous mana cloud that was the effect of the song made it a bit difficult, but Ribs perceived…yes, there it was! Each mermaid was linked to every other mermaid. Combining their efforts. Hah. There was a drawback to linking, Ribs knew. His gloved hand weighed his sword thoughtfully as he advanced, coat swishing, towards the nearest mermaid.

The poor monster was almost totally concentrating on maintaining the link and the song. She never saw Ribs coming, or saw the blow until it as happening.

Ribs could kill something quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of mess and noise. Right then, he didn't bother with such finesse. He jabbed his well-used, well-balanced weapon into the fish-woman, and then jerked it, ripping her open across the middle. The searing pain brought her back to the physical world, and her song went into a scream.

The other mermaids faltered, and a few others screamed as intensely as the wounded one had. Ribs felt a tight satisfaction, and kicked the shrieking mermaid onto her front with his hard boot. Then he lightly jabbed her with his sword—almost just a sharp poke, really. It didn't go very deep, but, then, on the spot he picked, it didn't have to. The mermaid ceased screaming—and stopped moving, as well.

The shock of the death ran through the others, and they stopped singing completely. Zelos quit struggling against Raine, and Athan stood up from his normal fighting stance. But it was only for a few precious seconds, until the mermaids began their song again.

Elpida, too small to help much with wrestling with the two guys, watched Ribs. A faint, reddish-purple glow flowed around him. Her attention now totally occupied, she watched the glow intensify, then slide up him and gather into his palm. When it finished, he lobbed the crackling ball of dark mana up into the air.

Then thin rays of darkness ripped up the beach, striking randomly within the gathering of mermaids. The enemies' numbers were such that each of the randomly-striking bolts couldn't _help _but hit a mermaid or two. Elpida grinned. She knew about that technique—Vengeance, a sort of Dark-magic version of Judgment. She ran to the revenant, and grabbed his arm.

"Ribs! Do that again! Combine it with my Judgment!"

Ribs nodded, and fell back into his casting, the reddish-purple nimbus coming back around him. He was almost halfway through when he happened to glance at Elpida. He almost lost the spell completely out of shock.

Elpida was glowing white, but that wasn't unusual for someone casting a Light-based spell. What shocked him were the spreading, white, transparent wings that had sprang out of her shoulders and spread almost to the ground. The hazy bottom tips of her wings would have touched the ground—if she had been standing on it.

Ribs wrenched his attention back to his casting. Elpida finished her incantation first, and waited for him to catch up. Her face dead serious, she said, "Ready? On three…"

When she reached three, they both hurled the spells into the air, high above the mermaids. Everyone on the beach—monsters, fighters, and casters, watched the two spheres of mana, one light, one dark--arc over the mermaids and touch.

The world became silent.

There was a sound like a marshmallow landing on a plate.

Then the world became searing bright, and the horrible noise clapped itself over the ears of everyone present.

Witnesses said later that the Altamira Hotel shuddered at the impact, rattling every window. And years later, geologists surveying the mountains at the other end of the island found that some great shock had caused avalanches and made the mountains settle—collapsing most of the caverns in there. They put it down to a local earthquake.

There was a silent moment while everyone's eyes adjusted to normal sunlight again. Then Zelos said, "Um, Professor Raine? As much as I like having you on top of me, can you let me up now?"

Cautiously, Raine released her lock and got up, wobbling a little from the memory of that moment when the whole island shuddered. Zelos got up, and gingerly touched his face where Lloyd had hit him. His eye was swollen nearly shut, and was fast turning into a spectacular shade of purple. Then his expression went flinty, and he retrieved his sword.

There were two mermaids still alive. Alive, but by no means intact. They were weakly trying to take up the song again. His face stony, Zelos finished them off with two well-placed chops.

He turned around to see everyone gathered around Elpida, who was grinning hugely and floating with her toes about six inches above the sand. He came back over just as Sheena asked, "_When_ were you going to tell us you're an angel?"

"Well, I didn't remember until not even a couple of minutes ago. When I saw Bones over there use Vengeance, I remembered I can use Judgment. But I have to have my wings out to do it, so I remembered them, too."

"White wings?" Raine asked.

"Maybe it's a personality thing," the girl said.

"Amazing. I thought me and Yuan and Colette were the last angels left," Lloyd said.

Zelos coughed apologetically. "Um. Lloyd, about that…"

Every eye turned to him. Sheena crossed her arms, guessing what this was leading up to.

Zelos went on wretchedly. "Ah, you know how at first I was leaking information to Cruxis and the Renegades?"

Sheena raised an eyebrow. "It went further than leaking information," she stated rather than asked.

"Ah, well, watch…" Zelos concentrated, willing his wings to expand. He'd never really practiced doing it, but finally he felt them spread out. He moved them a bit.

"Ooh! Pretty! I like the color, Fred!" Elpida said. "It fits you. Flamboyant, you know? It's a shame they clash with your hair."

Lloyd tilted his head. "When were _you_ going to let us know?"

"Ah, well, when I first met you, I didn't tell you because I didn't know if I'd have to fight you. And after the world was rejoined, it'd either slip my mind or the time wasn't right. I mean, I couldn't just go, 'Hey, everybody! Look what I can do!' "

Sheena sniffed. "Sounds like something you'd do."

Raine shrugged. "Anyway, you'd better put your wings away, both of you. People will wonder, and they'll be coming down here in a moment."

"Awww! Do I have to?" Elpida whined as childishly as she could.


	24. Sunny Beaches

Chapter 24: Sunny Beaches

_Author's note: The wheels of The Literator's creative process now turn more slowly than they once did, but he gets there eventually. And he has now surpassed the 50,000 word mark. The beginning of the chapter will be put on hold while the readers marvel at this accomplishment._

_…_

_Okay, are you done with the marveling?_

_Then here we go…_

**Zelos and Elpida winched in their wings obediently.** Sure enough, within a handful of minutes, a few Lezareno employees and hotel staff came down the beach. Lloyd recognized the two in the lead. He turned to face them, crossed his arms, and let his face darken.

The two, Jeff and Tom, stood a bit shame-faced. Finally, Jeff said, "Uh…I'm sorry, Sir Knight. I forgot to tell you about the effects of the mermaids' song."

"You oughta be!" Lloyd snarled. "We only won because we got lucky! I almost—" he cut himself off, and glanced guiltily at Sheena.

Jeff coughed uncomfortably. "Ah…we feel we owe you for this so…a few nights' stay at the hotel and, uh, anything else we can do for you?"

"We came here wanting a vacation and a day or two at the beach," Lloyd said in a more reasonable tone.

Jeff looked out at the expanse of the beach. It had an almost festive air to it, with little pieces of red and orange and purple scales scattered here and there…they were certainly hanging around. "Uh…can you give us a day or so to clean up around here?"

Lloyd nodded. "You still owe us," he said flatly.

"Right…just go up to the hotel while we get this cleaned up."

**The a storm rolled in with the night.** The group passed the time in their own ways—wandering around the hotel, watching the rain and talking, or, in the case of Athan and Elpida, shopping for bathing suit, courtesy of the Lezareno company. The weather cleared by mid-morning of the next day, and the hotel announced that the beach was open for the public again.

Lloyd, Sheena, Zelos, Raine, and stood in their swimwear, waiting for the others. The three had been very surprised when Zelos came down, grinning happily. They'd figured he'd keep away from the beach due to his eye; the swelling had gone down but the lids and surrounding skin were still a terrific shade of blackish-purple. Apparently, the lure of sun, surf, and sand could overcome even the former Chosen's vanity.

Ribs came down first, wearing his full outfit. As he explained, he didn't have anything to tan, he was unable to swim, he wasn't bothered by heat, and, anyway, people would be uneasy with an animated skeleton stretching out with them.

Next was Elpida, humming a cheerful little tune. Her bathing suit was a bright orange two-piece. Zelos gave a wolf whistle at the sight. "Lookin' good, my lady!" he said flamboyantly.

Elpida held out her arms and twirled. Indeed, she looked good. Her time out of the caverns underground was giving her skin some gilt, and it was apparent that Elpida was well-proportioned for her height—like she was somehow scaled-down rather than short. "Thanks, Fred! I got orange so it'd go with your wings." She appeared to notice Zelos' swimwear for the first time. With an appearance of complete innocence, she asked, "Shouldn't you be wearing a boy's swimsuit instead of the bottom half of a girl's?"

Zelos, nonplussed, fumbled for an answer. The others watched with some amusement; they'd noticed that Elpida's mix of _almost_-certainly-feigned-innocence and bubbly childishness was one of the few things that could throw the man off balance. Lloyd hid a grin, and noticed Athan coming down from the elevator.

The monk, for the first time since Lloyd had met him, was wearing something other than his pants-and-sash. His swimming trunks were bright red, with a print of white tropical flowers. Lloyd heard Sheena say playfully, "Hey! Look, everybody! Athan actually has legs!"

Elpida immediately turned to look. "They're good legs, too," she said critically. "And…what's this…?" She squinted slightly at the monk's legs, then squealed, a sound impossible to describe properly with conventional vowels. "_Oaaeeohw_! YOU HAVE DIMPLED KNEES!" She hugged the monk, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Come on!" Lloyd said impatiently. "Let's go!"

**The beach held no sign of the slaughter that had occurred on it the previous day—the cleanup crews were professionals.** People were on the beach, laughing, swimming, sunning, and doing the other assorted activities appropriate to a beach.

Zelos, noticing a couple of passing beauties, tried a smile out on them. One of them noticed him, then noticed the black eye, then broke out laughing. Zelos' look soured. "Thanks a lot, Lloyd," he grumbled.

"I said I was sorry! Anyway, you were choking me!" Lloyd rubbed at the bruises on his neck; they were already beginning to fade, unlike Zelos's adornment.

"Yeah, but you ruined my face! How can I pick up chicks with my visage marred? I look like a barroom fighter…"

"_You're_ the one who wanted to come on the beach today…Why don't you try soaking your head? Isn't sea water supposed to be good for injuries?"

Zelos brightened. "Hey! That's right! Excuse me, Lloyd, the allure of the great Lady that is the sea is calling me into her healing embrace…" And he was knee-deep in the warm water before he realized that Lloyd's suggestion was possibly _not_ as innocent and helpful as it had sounded. He tried it anyway.

Lloyd was left alone. He surveyed his friends for a while. Ribs had settled against a wall at the back of the beach; Lloyd bet himself that the skeleton's pencil, paper, and slate would be in use within five minutes. Sheena and Athan were talking—Lloyd noticed with a smile that Athan, exotic as he looked, was attracting some female attention from the ladies on the beach. Elpida had gone right up to two young women tanning, stretched out beside them, and started talking to them like she'd known them for years; only she could get away with that, he felt. And Raine…

Lloyd focused on his former teacher. She was standing well away from the water, and casting the occasional nervous glance towards it, like she was concerned that it might creep up on her. Lloyd had an idea. It might be good for Raine to finally learn how to swim…and he could imagine a way to get her out in the water.

He casually walked towards Raine. When he was near her, he cleared his throat. "Nice day, isn't it, Professor?"

She started, having been in some private world. "Oh…well, the sun is rather harsh."

"I bet you the water would feel great."

"Ah…no, thank you, Lloyd…I'll stay up here"

"C'mon, Professor Sage…you don't have to go out deep…just get your feet wet."

She gave him a crooked smile. "If it'll stop you from badgering me, I'll do it."

She walked beside him down into the water. With only a moment's hesitation at the water's edge, she splashed into the sea. Lloyd led her out until they were about knee deep.

She risked a smile. "This does feel nice, Lloyd."

He nodded. "Told you." Now he tried his ploy…"Professor, are you excited about going back to the Monastery?"

Her eyes lit up. The odd thing was how it really was a change in color for the brighter. He knew it happened when she went into Ruin-mode, but now the thought occurred to him that he didn't have the slightest idea how it could happen. For once, he wished he'd paid more attention in school. "Oh, _yes_," she breathed. "All that knowledge…"

Lloyd risked a step further out into the sea as he said, "It is pretty cool, them having books and stuff from before the Ancient War." Raine unconsciously moved to keep level with him.

"It's more than that, Lloyd, it's marvelous! Think of the things we could learn from there!" Her eyes were practically glowing now.

Lloyd had her hooked now. He took a couple of steps further out. "I wonder what all the orders there study," he said innocently.

"Biology, and medicine, and magic, and who knows what else! We could ask Athan. He's sure to know," Raine said. They were now well into the water. "Why this sudden interest in academics? It's not usually like—" Raine glanced down at the warm sea water she was up to her waist in. She turned an amused look at Lloyd. "Very clever, Lloyd. I assume for your sake that this isn't just a prank?"

Lloyd gulped at the veiled prediction in that statement. He knew he could easily win a fight with Raine, but the idea of seriously fighting his former teacher was unthinkable, whereas she had never shown any hesitation in throwing an eraser at him or dinging him one on the side of the head. He said quickly, "I'm sorry, Professor! I just thought if I could get you out into the water without you thinking about it, maybe you wouldn't be so afraid. I thought…maybe…I could teach you how to swim?"

A laugh escaped Raine. "Sheena's right…you _can_ be sweet."

"Wha…? Sheena talks about me?"

"Of course." Raine gave him an unreadable smile. "So…you want to be the teacher for once? Fine, consider me your student."

It took a moment for Lloyd, still worried by the idea of Sheena talking about him without his knowledge and who-knew-what she was _saying_, to catch up to that statement. "Wh—okay, uh, Professor, have you ever learned how to float?"

"Ah, a direct question to baldly assess your pupil's grasp of the subject matter. Not a bad technique. And, no, I do not know how to float."

Lloyd had a very strong feeling that this would be more tedious than he'd thought. It was a sensation not unlike sinking.

**Lloyd did a decent job of teaching, considering that Raine kept up a running commentary of how he taught.** It would have been easier for Lloyd if she had not, certainly. As it was, he taught her to float within a few minutes. She found it a very apt example of buoyancy and comparative density, and had no qualms about letting a good lungful of air keep her afloat.

She was not so enthusiastic about moving through water using muscle power. Within a half-hour, he'd discovered that Raine could not stand to be underwater. She was relatively fine floating on top of it, but the thought all that _depth_ under her distracted her while she tried true swimming. Then she'd lose the rhythm of her stroke, and she'd sink a bit, and _that_ would send her into a panic and would continue flailing until Lloyd pulled her up.

He taught her a basic dogpaddle and, after an hour of her experimenting in shallower water, swam beside her out to where it was almost as deep as Raine was tall. She managed to keep her head until they were heading back to the beach, and when she finally panicked, the water was only up to her chest.

"Professor, you did really great!" Lloyd congratulated her as he pulled her upright.

She pulled her sodden hair out of her face. "Thank you, Lloyd. This has been a very educational experience." With an attempt at some dignity, she spat out some water that had gotten into her mouth. "Now I think I'll go onto the beach until we go back to the hotel."

Feeling oddly proud of himself, he watched her wade to the beach. Unfortunately, he was not looking the way he should have been, and proved an easy target for Sheena and Athan. He felt hands grab his arms, and turned his head--to see Athan grinning at him. "Hey! What are you—_blubglubablub…_" he said as they picked him up and dunked him. He came up, soaking wet and his hair flopping weirdly. He glared at the two as he blew water out of his nose. "That's not fair!" the swordsman accused when he could talk, "I couldn't see you coming!"

"You weren't supposed to," Sheena said sweetly. "You're not supposed to let your guard down, anyway."

"Want to help me get Zelos?" Athan offered with a grin.

Lloyd's face cracked into a similarly evil expression.

The two left Sheena and began sneaking up on Zelos, who was standing some way out in the water, watching the women on the beach with a morose expression on his face, a hitherto unheard-of combination.

The only warning he got was Athan saying quietly in his ear, "You might want to hold your nose." Then he felt himself being pulled down--then he heard the complicated noises of being underwater.

He came up spluttering and cursing, his long mass of red hair hanging in unattractive straggles. "You bastards! What was that for?"

"You were looking so sad…we had to give you a quick dip to wash that look off," Lloyd said with his idea of an expression of angelic innocence, which made him look like he had an itch he couldn't reach in the middle of his back. "Besides, think of how much good that saltwater did for your eye."

Zelos, profoundly unamused, glared at him. "I ought to choke you…again!"

Lloyd winked at Athan before answering Zelos. "I take it you want a matched set? You could always say that Sheena was beating up on you."

Zelos deflated a bit. "Okay, okay…I'm sorry I said that."

"Speaking of Sheena, want to help me get her?" Lloyd said. He was going slightly insane with the dunking thing.

"Hell yeah!" the ex-Chosen said.

She was floating in the sun-kissed water, apparently not paying any attention to the rest of the beach. They were only a few yards away when she said, "Don't try it."

Unsure, the pair looked at each other. Sheena spoke again. "Yes, I really did know you were coming, and, yes, if you try to dunk me I'll give you both a black eye." Now she opened her eyes and got her legs under her. "But we could all try to get Athan."

Now there was a challenge…Lloyd turned to look along the beach, to where the fighting monk was watching the people on the beach. He nodded.

The three, grinning evilly, advanced on the monk, expecting this to be a quick surprise and an easy mark. As for Athan, he took no notice of them—until they sprang. Then he turned, caught Lloyd, threw him into the water, pushed Zelos over, and dislodged his sister from his shoulder, and likewise ejected her away from his person.

The people on the beach began to take notice of the fight. Athan's sheer strength was more than carrying the battle, as he could toss them away easily.

Up on the beach, Elpida watched with a critical eye. Finally, she said to her two new friends, "Excuse me, Sybil, Sherry…" She stood up, brushed some sand off, adjusted her bathing suit, and then ran down to the water, emitting one long, drawn-out scream, even after she got so deep in the water that she had to wade slowly.

She came down to the battle, and jumped onto Athan's back, one arm around his neck, one under his arm. "GET 'IM! PULL HIS LEGS OUT!"

Athan turned his head to look at her. "Elpida…you're five feet tall and not bigger than a minute. Do you really think you can be that much help to them?"

She said in his ear, "Yep."

"How's that?" he asked smugly.

She bit his shoulder.

"OW! HEY!" He performed a frantic dance, trying to dislodge her. "NOT FAIR!"

…Whereupon, Lloyd and Zelos each took one of his knees and pulled hard, so his legs folded under him.

Everyone on the beach applauded.


	25. Proving Grounds

Chapter 25: Proving Grounds

_Author's note: I offer my apologies to the readers of this work. All I can offer in explanation is that college is VERY time-consuming._

_However, I want you all to recognize J.G. the Game Master for somehow getting me rolling on this one by making me realize that I've got fans who like the story and want to see it completed someday._

_Thanks, man._

**The next day, slightly sunburned but cheerful, they met in Lloyd and Sheena's room to discuss what to do next.**

"I don't know about you guys, but I want to stay here for another day," Zelos said easily.

"Why?" Sheena snapped. "So that black eye will have a chance of fading?"

"Well…yeah," the redhaired-man smirked.

Athan cleared his throat. "I want to go back to the Monastery. I've long since done what I needed, so I have to report my findings."

"What'll happen after that?" Lloyd asked.

Athan shrugged. "I'll ask for continued leave to journey with you. Depending on the outcome, I may or may not get it."

Sheena tilted her head. "Outcome?"

"I've been away for a while. To get permission to stay away further, I have to to prove my skills haven't deteriorated—by fighting my brother monks."

In the quiet moment after Athan said that, while everyone was thinking of the prospect of going on without Athan, Zelos said dejectedly, "We're not going to stay here, are we?"

Lloyd considered it. Finally, he delivered his verdict. "Nope."

"Damn!"

**A few hours later, they left.** The clouds crept across the open blue sky, and the sun shone more often than not. It looked to be a good day for flying.

Except, in the six or so hours it took them to reach the Monastery, the weather worsened, and grew colder. The last two hours were filled with wet, cold rain, mixed with sleet. Although it never got so bad as to endanger the flight, there was not a one of them who could easily dismiss the possibility—as the icy wind seemed to blow right through them, rather than around them.

When they landed on the ledge of the Monastery, every one of them could only think of warmth and getting dry—except for Ribs, who worried about his friends getting those things.

Once inside the Monastery, it took Athan thirty minutes of cheerfully bullying such members they met to get a group of five masters assembled. Brodelaw, Athan's teacher, was one of them. The other four were from orders dedicated to history, philosophy, science, and magic.

They listened while Athan told a much-abbreviated edition of the story of the world regeneration. Eventually, the master of history narrowed his eyes. "Brother Donu, you of course realize this story you are telling totally invalidates everything we know of theology."

"Yes, master," Athan said evenly. "I know that."

"But can you offer proof of this? A bizarre story where Mithos the Hero split the world with a sword given to him by Origin?"

"I believe I can, master." Athan said seriously.

The man smirked unpleasantly. "Would you care to?"

Athan turned. "Lloyd? Would you mind showing them the Eternal Sword?"

The master of magic, an elf, half-rose. "What?"

The master of history spluttered, but Brodelaw spoke for the first time at the proceedings. "It's irregular, but I can't think of any reason to disallow it. Go on, Mister Irving."

Wincing faintly at being called "mister" by a man probably three times his age, Lloyd stepped forward hesitantly, and drew his sword. He thought hard about the Eternal Sword's power, then pressed the two blades together. When the glow faded, he somewhat sheepishly held up the enormous purple sword.

The room was quiet. Finally, the history master said carefully, "This is the sword given to the hero Mithos by Origin, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And this sword has enough power that it was used to separate the world into two halves?"

"Er…yes."

The man looked at the elf master of magic, whose face was close to being pure white. "Can you feel its power, Orion?"

The elf nodded slowly, still staring at the sword. After a moment, he shuddered. "Can you put it away, Mister Irving? It's…overwhelming."

Lloyd willed the sword to separate and, a moment later, sheathed his sword.

Brodelaw coughed politely. "I think that's it, Brothers."

Athan cleared his throat. "Ah, Master…I would like permission to continue journeying with Lloyd and his friends."

Brodelaw gave his student an impassive stare. Lloyd expected him to ask why, but the massive man nodded and said, "I can't refuse my star pupil the chance to see more of the world. I'll inform the appropriate students to get ready. " He glanced over at his fellow masters. "Let us say the testing will be in four hours in the main arena?" Lloyd watched, puzzled, as the other masters nodded slightly.

**On the way to the quarters of Athan's order, Lloyd caught up with Brodelaw.** "Why did you ask the other masters when to hold Athan's test?"

"Hm? Oh. They were letting me know they could spread the word and make it on time."

"Why would they do that?"

Brodelaw grinned. "We're a pretty isolated society, Lloyd. We jump at the chance for any entertainment we can get. A tournament between some fairly skilled fighters will the last the whole Monastery for two months."

Lloyd considered it. "I guess so. But it feels wrong. I mean, they won't care if Athan wins or loses. It's just a show to them."

Brodelaw smirked. "You'd be surprised. There's hundreds of monks, but Athan's pretty famous around here."

"Why's that?" Lloyd pressed.

"You should see tonight."

**The monks were filing into the arena.** The room was fashioned into circular tiers, each one wider than the one below it. At the bottom was a fighting ring of simple dirt, about forty feet across. Light was being cast on it by some more of the magitechnology lamps they had in the Monastery. Lloyd and his friends were allowed seats at the bottom tier of seats.

Athan was already in the ring. He was in the process of warming up. When he was finished, he approached his teacher, sitting on Lloyd's left. "Master, why are we using the tent? He jerked a thumb at a screen of some opaque fabric stretched across some ten feet of the seats across from them—obscuring the people behind them.

Brodelaw adopted an expression of great sagacity. "My student, only by observing how you fare against the unknown will we be able to gauge your skills."

Athan gave his longtime friend the evil eye. "Riiiiiight."

Brodelaw dropped the act. "I don't want you worrying about who you'll fight next, and I don't want your testers to see how you fare."

"As you wish, Master." Athan said, even though he didn't sound very happy.

Brodelaw squinted up at the filling tiers. "We're close to capacity," the huge man observed. He looked at Athan. "Shall we start?"

Athan gave a curt nod. The man walked out into the arena. The buzz of conversation died away the seats, and was replaced by an expectant silence.

Brodelaw leaned over to Lloyd and muttered, "Don't cheer or shout. Clap when either fighter does well, and for the victor. Pass it along to your friend. Don't ask why—it's just the manners here."

Lloyd relayed the message and watched at it went from Sheena, to Raine, Elpida, Zelos, and Ribs.

"Excuse me a moment." Brodelaw stood, and clapped once. It sounded far too loud to be a normal clap—Lloyd wondered what trick he'd used to amplify it. The sound echoed through the arena. Athan straightened up and took a breath. From behind the screen came another monk. He was taller than Athan, if not so heavily built. His hair was reddish-brown, and he was marked with the two dragons and a floral design—Lloyd didn't recognize the blue flowers featured.

He stopped in the middle of the ring. A minute or so passed in silence, except for the inaudible murmur of the two opponents talking to each other. Brodelaw clapped again. The pair stepped back slightly, and took up their stances.

Brodelaw did his too-loud clap for the third time and sat down. "I'm officiating," he muttered.

"Who's the other guy?" Lloyd whispered.

"Nivez. He's a friend of Athan's, so I thought I'd give them time to talk a bit."

"Friend? What do we do if one of them really hurts the other one?"

"We try to avoid that. But in case of accidents or injury, we have a few of the better healers nearby." He paused. "Oh, that's clever."

While Brodelaw had been talking, the pair of fighters had been cautiously feeling each other out. Then the tempo had changed—fists thrusting and legs lashing out towards heads and chests. Athan appeared on the defensive, leaning out of the way of punches and kicks and blocking when he couldn't dodge, until he caught a kick aimed at his ear and heaved, throwing Nivez upward. The man twisted as he was carried up by the force and managed to turn the motion into a flip that landed him on his feet. Polite applause rippled through the audience—but stopped when Athan, taking advantage of the Nivez's undefended stance, punched him in the gut a mere half-second later.

The auburn-headed man gasped loudly and doubled over. For a few seconds, Athan watched him, then bent down slightly to thump his friend on the back in an effort to help him get his breath back.

Brodelaw stood up. "Victory to Athan Donu!" he boomed. Applause went through the arena. Athan apparently paid no heed, and helped his friend to a small knot of what looked like half-elves. Brodelaw grunted when he sat back down. "That's Athan all over. Won and then tends to his opponent."

"How'd he win?" Lloyd asked.

The Master smirked. "The rules say if a fighter is completely unable to defend himself, he loses. Athan incapacitated his opponent, and if you can do that in a real fight, you've as good as won." He stood up again. The applause died away. Then the huge man clapped. Athan moved back into the middle of the ring as his second opponent came out.

This man was also Athan's rank. His head was shaven, even his eyebrows. The rawboned fighter was the better part of a foot taller than Athan, but Lloyd could see Athan was the heavier of the two. There was a shorter conversation than the last one, then Brodelaw clapped for the second time. At the third time, both fighters sprang into motion.

The pair were trading punches and kicks at a rapid pace, but Lloyd was able to follow it closely enough to see Athan gaining a clear edge over the taller man. Finally, the man performed a rapid series of backflips, putting half the ring between himself and Athan. Lloyd heard Brodelaw mutter to him, "This is where it gets interesting."

In the relatively dim light, Lloyd could see a slight glow around the other monk's arms. There was a faint murmur from the crowd. Then the rawboned monk threw a punch—and the glow left his arm and shot towards Athan.

Athan raised both arms just in time to block the projectile. The meaty _thwack _of the hit was heard through most of the large arena. Lloyd winced—there was no way that couldn't have hurt.

Athan broke into a run towards his right, circling his opponent. The bald monk responding with another of those projectile punches, expertly judging where Athan would be in the second it'd take to go that far.

Or where Athan would have been, if he hadn't changed direction while losing almost no speed. Lloyd's friend darted in, closing the distance and even dodging another of those long-range punches as he came in.

The other monk leaped into the air, too high for it to have been on pure muscle power. A glow gathered around his upraised fist.

But whatever attack he had intended, the crowd never saw. Athan leaped at him, bring his arm into an uppercut. Lloyd was sure he saw a brief burst of that light as the fist made contact with the man's chest. The impact knocked the man even further into the air, pushing him away from Athan.

Athan landed on his feet, but the other fighter landed flat on his face. Lloyd winced as the man groaned and tried to get up—then went limp. Athan walked the few steps over, and knelt by his opponent. After prodding him carefully, and extracting a groan, Athan carried the taller man to the healers, even as Brodelaw announced his victory.

As Athan took his place facing the screen, Brodelaw clapped a third time.

The man who came out was of average height (making him a few inches taller than Athan), with black hair and angular features—even the prominent nose seemed a bit sharp. But the crowd murmured because the man was marked with two dragons, and two floral designs—showing him to be a rank above Athan. The man looked every bit as built as Lloyd's friend.

Athan turned to look at his teacher inquiringly. Brodelaw nodded, and Athan nodded back, took a breath, and squared up with his opponent.

_Clap._

They took up their stances. The crowd watched in extreme interest.

Lloyd, concerned about how fair this fight would be, looked at Sheena. She was watching the pair intently. When he tried to whisper to her, she shushed him. He turned back to the fight.

_Clap._

It began.

**Athan was worried, somewhere in the back of his mind. **Upon obtaining a new rank, every monk fought against someone of the next rank up, to show him what he had left to learn. No one ever won these fights, but Athan had come closer than most—meaning he had always been able to hold his own for a while.

When he'd gotten his third rank the previous year, his opponent had been Rinus—the man in front of him now. Athan had done alright, putting up a gallant fight before Rinus had found some reserve of speed, and from then until the end of the match Athan had been unable to land a hit on him.

Now Rinus edged closer, his eyes locked on Athan's. His tempo changed abruptly, the man executing a long, relatively low jump, spinning to bring his foot around at Athan's head in a vicious kick. Athan ducked under it, and heard Rinus land behind him. Well-honed instincts made him turn as he rose, smashing out with a fist. He was rewarded with a _thwack_ and the sight of Rinus staggering back, his blindside attack anticipated and countered.

Athan's elation was cut short when Rinus came back with a high, spinning kick. He barely got his arm up in time to block—and part of him shuddered at the thought of how that kick would have felt if it had landed.

Then Rinus snapped his leg down, and spun, catching Athan with a sweep. As Athan fell, he found his arm grabbed well before he hit ground, and then he was thrown. He recovered, landing a good ways across the arena and sliding a bit on his feet. He sprang upright and caught Rinus' fist as it came at him. That part of him still doing rational thought cursed him for an idiot for trying to catch a punch from someone of a higher rank—as they earned higher ranks, monks tended to get stronger. But then Athan caught the next punch with his free hand, and when Rinus tried to pull away, it dawned on both of them that Athan was the stronger of the pair.

Athan recovered first from the slight shock and yanked Rinus into his rising knee. He heard the grunt, and the ripple of applause from the crowd.

Then Rinus headbutted him.

Athan staggered back, seeing a blur, and was surprised when punches and kicks didn't rain on him. The haze cleared, and he saw Rinus straighten up, rubbing his stomach. He gave Athan a nod of respect, and set himself.

Athan came at him this time.

**"Athan's probably the best monk we've ever had in the order," Brodelaw said quietly.** "With his current ability, he could probably make the fourth rank if the rules allowed for us to test him so soon after he rose a rank—even if he doesn't quite realize it."

"So you're making him fight this guy to help him realize that?" Lloyd hazarded.

Brodelaw grinned. "Actually, I was just curious to see if he could win."

"You're awful," Lloyd smirked.

**Athan was fighting by almost pure instinct—not consciously thinking about the fight, but reacting and countering well enough to hold his own. **He was giving as good as he got, he vaguely realized.

Then Rinus withdrew, and Athan felt him gathering his body's energy. The monk had a sudden, unpleasant vision of the future. It involved pain.

**Lloyd winced.** Rinus had done some technique and now his speed had increased. Athan was now only to block or dodge about two out of three strikes—the third time, he was hit hard. Lloyd watched with heart sinking. Then Athan did something. A faint whitish glow was visible around him for a moment—then Lloyd saw the punch smash into the slightly blurred figure of Rinus, the man moving right into it and getting knocked flying.

**Athan's mind worked furiously.** How could you do that? Something in him was sorting through what he knew in a chain of reasoning.

…his order learned to increase and use the body's energy to perform techniques…

...a person's reflexes and therefore speed depended on the condition of their nervous system and muscle training…

…if he used the body's energy to increase the efficiency of his nervous system…

He gathered his body's energy and focused it inward. He almost laughed when he realized how easy this could be done. Really, it was just a matter of thinking it out. And he rather suspected it could be used to increase strength and durability. But right now, he needed an edge.

When the effect caught, then was a moment of nausea. Then it seemed everything other than him was suddenly much slower. Even Rinus seemed to be moving at below his normal speed, coming back at him from his landing. Athan watched the look of surprise spread across the man's eyes as Athan rushed him.

Athan spun and plant a solid kick into his opponent's ribs. Just slightly too slowly, Rinus tried to counter, and Athan found it easy to push the man's arm out of its intended course and land a few hits on his solar plexus. Athan would remember this technique.

Oh, _yes,_ he'd remember it.

**The crowd was still silent, but now it was silent because it was stunned.** Rinus was so fast, his attacks had been blurred slightly, but Athan was blurring more than slightly. Sometimes the end of a limb went invisible as he swung, and he sometimes seemed to have more arms and legs than the usual amount.

Rinus fought back for another minute—a painful minute—and then, finally, he shouted, "I submit!"

Athan stopped blurring. Rinus straightened, making no move to defend himself.

Beside Lloyd, Brodelaw rose. "You submit, Rinus? To a monk of the third rank?" He called loud enough for the whole audience to hear.

"Yes, Master. I submit to Athan because I have no way to win against him. He could not have known the Catquick technique before he fought me, and he is already better than I with it. He is my superior, no matter what our rank indicates." He bowed low to Brodelaw, then to Athan.

Brodelaw shrugged, then boomed, "The victor is Athan Donu! The testing is over!"

There was applause throughout the audience. Lloyd clapped just as hard as anyone else—and then Sheena beside him stood up, still clapping. Lloyd followed suit, and then it spread through the whole audience.

Amid the applause, a woman who looked to be close to middle age came down from the seats and into the floor—where she embraced Athan. He returned the hug and, when he was released, turned to wave Sheena over to him.

Lloyd watched Sheena force herself to walk normally to her brother and her mother. He didn't try to go with her. Right then, it was time for Sheena and her family, together at last.


	26. The TwentySixth Chapter

Chapter 26: The Twenty-Sixth Chapter

_Author's Note: And yea, there came times when Alex would rise from his daily labors and say 'Huzzah, for I have finished Chapter 26.' But, alas, such would mean that he now had to continue as he had done. But ever would he labor, even so slowly, for not finishing what he had started was unthinkable._

**Brodelaw hammered on the door of Lloyd's room, before walking in like he owned it.**

Which, in point of fact, he did.

Lloyd was stumbling out of bed, bleary eyed. He blinked up at the fighting Master, who was practically filling the doorway.

"_Good_ morning, Mr. Irving!" he said in the cheerful, slightly-too-loud voice he used for these occasions. "Will you join myself and the novices for our morning exercise?"

Lloyd blinked again, having a slow time waking up. "Can I just go back to bed?"

His face impassive, Brodelaw snapped his thick fingers and held out a hand. A waiting monk handed him a bucket of cold water—enchanted to be colder than freezing and stay that way, courtesy of the mages. With some amount of aplomb, Brodelaw pitched the icy water onto Lloyd.

The young man yelped as the cold bit through his clothes. "What the hell was that for?" he demanded, sounding more alert now.

"Are you coming?" Brodelaw asked pleasantly.

"Hell no!"

Brodelaw snapped again, and a moment later Lloyd was hit with a second splash of water.

Through his splutters and chattering teeth, Lloyd gave in. It seemed to be the only choice—trying to take a swing at Brodelaw was not the most intelligent thing someone could do. Lloyd had matured quite a bit since the Oracle arrived, more than two years ago. "All right, I'm coming!"

"Glad to hear it," the Master said jovially. He stood until Lloyd had pulled on his shirt and fumbled his sword belts into place, then he turned on his heel and strode out into the hallway.

Lloyd, hurrying after Athan's teacher, didn't see the two second-ranked monks, who each had a bucket of the chill water. They grabbed the empty buckets and followed after their teacher.

**The exercises weren't hard for Lloyd.** Thanks to his Exsphere, his strength and endurance were well beyond the human norms. What he noticed though, was that the novices didn't seem to have difficulty with it, either. First, they ran laps around the fighting ring in the center of the dojo. Then they did a hundred push-ups, followed by more laps, and ended with jumping in place, in unison, for about a thousand times.

Finally Brodelaw, who had been standing off to the side and shouting encouragements and imprecations at random, clapped. The sound reverberated through the large, square, low-ceilinged room.

"Time for…the Test!" Lloyd realized he could _hear_ the capital letter.

A pair of second-ranked monks came forward, carrying a massive metal disk—three feet across and some inches thick, with a pair of handles on one surface of it, set across from each other.

Brodelaw beckoned Lloyd over to him. "Watch this. They try this every morning until they can manage it."

Lloyd turned to watch the novices line up. Several of the two dozen or so were stretching or otherwise limbering up.

"What do you think is about to happen?" Brodelaw asked.

"They're going to try and pick up that thing."

"Essentially. Can you figure out why it's a test?"

Looked glanced up at the bald man, who was watching his students with a proprietorial air. "They have to be strong enough?" he hazarded.

"In a way. Have you noticed we don't use those Exspheres like you and your friends do?"

Lloyd frowned. He hadn't, but now that he thought back on it…He shook his head. "How do you know about Exspheres?"

"The technology is thousands of years old, Lloyd," the teacher said with a touch of condescension. He abruptly changed his pitch, booming out, "Begin!" Then he dropped to a normal tone. "We—that is, our order and the other fighting order—learn to channel our own body's energy to increase its performance. Strength, durability…speed, as Athan showed last night. All of the novices have been taught the theory and undergo meditation, but that disk is too heavy for someone to move naturally without years of intense training. So…for them to move it during this decade, they have to learn to perform the basic technique—increasing strength."

Lloyd turned back to watch. A couple were lined up against a wall, and the current subject, red in the face with effort, had the massive weight a few inches off the ground—then he was forced to drop it. "Good effort!" Brodelaw called as the man went to join the line at the wall.

"Could I learn it?" Lloyd asked curiously.

"Oh, yes, certainly. But you have other things you need to do before you can enroll here and spend several months sleeping on a hard bed and getting water thrown at you in the mornings," Brodelaw said, smirking.

"It's something to think about," Lloyd said seriously. "Being as strong as I am is useful, but it's because of my Exsphere. But when I give this up…:he stared at the back of his hand. "I'll go back to being…normal."

Brodelaw rubbed at his strong chin. "But you'll destroy that anyway, when you're done with your quest, won't you?" he guessed.

Lloyd's face went solid, and he nodded.

Brodelaw glanced back at his novices, about half of whom had already attempted to raise the weight. "Look," he ordered. "I've been looking forward to this."

Lloyd watched the novice currently trying to limber up. Dark-haired and swarthy, he was slightly shorter than Lloyd, but in his mid-twenties, and slim-framed, but his compact body was uniformly muscled. "Who's that?" Lloyd whispered.

"He said his name is Oron, but I don't know if that's true. He showed up about a month back and said Athan sent him here. Whatever he did before he came here, it gave him a lot of discipline. Watch."

The man who called himself Oron had bent over and grasped the handles on the disk. He took in a steadying breath, then heaved. His arms reddened at the effort, but he lifted the disk in a few seconds, and held it at arm's length for a moment before setting it back down noiselessly. The other novices clapped, and even Brodelaw applauded.

"What happened?"

"He's just earned his first rank in record time," Brodelaw said. "Oron! Come over here!"

The man came over quietly. He glanced at Lloyd before saying to Brodelaw, "Yes, master?"

"Congratulations. We'll hold your ascension ceremony in a week." The huge man smiled. "Now…why don't you serve breakfast? As a little reminder of humility?" He jerked his head at a door on one wall of the order's gym.

Oron, his face serious, bowed. "Of course."

**Lloyd's friends had gotten up by the time breakfast was finished. **Oron had done the meat-noodles-and-broth that seemed to be a staple of the diet around here. After the huge cauldron had been practically scraped clean by the monks, their teacher, and their guests, Brodelaw picked out some of his monks, and lined them up while he talked to his guests.

"These will be your guides," he said. "They've been given the day off from exercises to lead you around the Monastery to see what you want to. There's more interesting things to see than a bunch of sweaty men picking up heavy objects."

Elpida's face fell, but she kept quiet.

After some horse-trading among the party as to who would get what guide, they went their separate ways—Ribs went with Zelos, to have an interpreter.

Lloyd found himself with Nivez, from Athan's testing before. The man turned out to be good company. He knew his way through the multi-leveled maze of hallways and rooms through the monastery, and happily gave Lloyd a description of the major points of interest of the place. After an hour of showing the artifact galleries and the sheer size of the place, he mentioned the forges.

Lloyd's eyes lit up. "You craft stuff here?"

Nivez nodded. "The Order of Lamen's Hammer does. Any time one of the other orders needs something, they make it. They even craft and customize the weapons we use."

"I thought you didn't use them," Lloyd said.

"We don't spar with them, but we learn to use them. The main weapons are knuckles and greaves, but we have spears as well. In case the Monastery is attacked by monsters—which happens sometimes."

Lloyd remembered Regal's teacher, Levin, had come from here. "That's cool." He snapped out of reverie. "Come on, let's see them!"

**Ten minutes of walking, and a couple of flights of stairs, had them in the forges.**

The room was dark, lit only by the orange glow from the furnaces and the little lights atop the boards holding plans. As Lloyd's eyes adjusted, he could see maybe eight figures at work at different furnaces, and a few assistants going between them.

And…a couple of other people.

The orangish light from a furnace behind them cast a reddish tinge over two figures. One of them, Lloyd had no trouble recognizing. Zelos, with his cascade of true-red hair and his slightly-slouching stance, could be recognized from about a quarter-mile away. And the person next to him was just a black shape with the occasional shine on it.

Zelos and Ribs looked to be discussing something with a pair in front of them. The woman wore the leather apron and elbow-length gloves. Her protective visor was resting on her hair. She must have been working for a while, Lloyd thought, looking at the grime on her face and the pink streaks beads of sweat had carved through the strata. In one gloved hand she held an eight-pound hammer, and she waved it around when she spoke.

Her companion was a mage. He looked to be in his forties, and was a tall and naturally solid man. To Lloyd's amazement, the man wasn't even sweating, though his robes must have acted as a drift net for whatever heat happened to be in the area.

Lloyd motioned Nivez over, closing in.

"Oh, come _on_," the blacksmith said. "You just said you don't need them!"

Ribs' black-gloved hands snapped out a sentence, the sharpness of his movements showing the amiable undead was, for once, irritated. _It's the thought of it! _

The blacksmith huffed as Zelos translated for her.

"Why're all of you arguing?" Lloyd asked, coming closer.

All four looked at him. Zelos rattled off the summary.

"This guy—" he pointed at the mage "—sensed Ribs was an undead. Apparently, the teeth of what Ribs is can be used to customize some items, like a mermaid's tear. Oh, and they asked for Ribs' sword and shield, because of the metal it's made out of."

"What's so special about the metal?"

The mage answered. "This revenant's equipment is made of _morglin_. It's a metal of the Underworld, and there are, to my knowledge, only three samples of it in the world today, two of them here in the Monastery and so small that they'd be useless for craftwork, even if we were allowed to use them." The man's dark eyes strayed to Ribs' sheathed sword.

Ribs wove out another sentence. _But these are my only weapons. I still need them!_

When Zelos translated, the blacksmith gave an exasperated sigh. "We don't need the whole thing, Monlio. Just a few pounds of morglin. You're insulting him by asking for the whole set."

"But it must be thirty pounds of it!" The mage protested. "Pure morglin! Think of the research!"

The blacksmith's eyes went from the rim of the shield visible over Ribs' back, to the sword hanging at the skeleton's skeleton's. "How about a deal, Mr…Ribs? Let me customize your sword and shield. We have a storehouse of materials here, so you can basically name your enhancements. In exchange, I'll take about five pounds total from your weapons."

Ribs hesitated. _And my teeth? Why do you want them?_

The mage, Monlio, said smoothly, "A revenant's tooth, depending on how it's used, can either endow an item with a powerful resistance to all magic, or let an item serve as a focus for mana and enhance spellcasting. Among other uses. As for what we need them for, a device Ellis has been asked to make would be improved if we used some, and I myself have a design for a charm that requires a revenant's tooth…and morglin."

Ribs drew his battered, chipped sword. He turned it this way and that in the orange light of a nearby furnace, noting the dull sheen of its sides, the scratches and notches it had gained in millennia of hard use. Then he sheathed it. _Will the metal accept such enhancements?_

After Zelos finished translating, the blacksmith nodded. "It's a very reactive metal. There's an old manual written by a monk here centuries ago who had some, and he said he didn't think he found half of what could be done with it before he ran out of it."

Ribs seemed to be thinking. Then he removed the wide-brimmed hat, and unzipped the back of his mask. He laid both items on a nearby table. Taking his sword in his hand, he reversed it. He lined the pommel up with the back molars on his right side, then smashed it against them one—twice—three times. There was a faint clatter.

Ribs probed at a loosened tooth with his free hand, and managed to pry it out. He bent down, hand darting around across the floor, and he came up with four teeth in the palm of his gloved hand.

The blacksmith, grinning, took them. "Thank you, mister skeleton. Now, let's see your sword and shield."

Lloyd saw things were going well, and decided to leave. He backed away, and left Ribs discussing enhancements with the pair, via Zelos.

**Some thirty minutes later, Lloyd found himself in one of the rooms where the apprentice mages practiced.** He wasn't sure how, exactly, he got talked into staying here.

He looked down the long table, where the apprentices were bent over bowls of water.

"Elpida, would you explain this again?"

The small, purple-haired young lady said patiently, "I came in here looking for my ring."

"I get that, but why are they doing this?"

"The teacher—" she waved a hand at Orion, the elf master of magic, as he silently padded behind his seated students students, looking over their shoulders— "said I have a very strong mana presence, so it's possible to find something of mine. And he said they need the practice with looking for something this way."

Lloyd watched the some two dozen students, then turned his head back to the drawing she'd made. Whatever help it gave wouldn't be much. Elpida's talents didn't lie in drawing. Lloyd thought it looked like a face more than anything else.

He was startled out of his reverie when one of the students said, "I think I had it!"

They all looked at the student, a female whose greenish-blue hair belied her perfectly human face and ears. She blushed at the sudden focusing of attention.

Orion came over, saving her. "Tell me, in detail, Alissa."

She fumbled a bit, gaining confidence as she went on. "A little house with only one room inside. I just saw it for an instant, but I had think it's near mountains."

"You saw them?" The elf asked mildly.

"No, I just had a feeling of…mountains being important to this place."

Orion nodded. "Very good, Alissa." He looked around at the class. "I told you that scrying often brings more clues than a mere visual image. Those feelings are often as important as the image when you are searching for something in this way. Think of a small house near mountains while searching for Miss Elpida's ring."

Elpida was grinning and doing a little fidgety dance from the excitement. Her memories were scrambled and misty, but she felt, she _knew_, that her ring would bring them into focus. She watched as the students, with more guide points to work from, one by one found the place where her ring was. She wrote down what they said about it, to save for later.

She turned to mention it to Lloyd, but he was gone.

Darn.

She'd heard the others talk about how Lloyd had been on this journey they'd been on two years earlier. Naïve, hotheaded, and combining boyish excitement with a tendency to lose interest quickly. She decided she'd have liked to see him like that. Now he tended to watch quietly, and not disturb things. That, in her opinion, wasn't as much fun.

She shrugged, and wrote down some more of the clues they offered.

**Lloyd was met outside the door by Athan. **The monk's forehead was glistening from sweat, and he was panting.

"For Martel's sake, don't you stay in one place? I ran all over looking for you. Mother wants to meet you. Come on!"

Athan gave a quick nod to Nivez, and then forcibly pulled Lloyd along, before breaking into a run.

Lloyd ran after him.

Athan was fast, but not moreso than Lloyd was. What impressed Lloyd as they went down usually empty corridors and up flights of stairs, was Athan's endurance. Lloyd couldn't see any sign of his friend being slowing, despite him being winded just minute or so back.

Athan led Lloyd up higher and higher, until they went up a final flight of stairs and came out into…

The swordsman blinked. He thought they were on the roof for a moment, then realized at here, in the Flanoir region, it wouldn't be so comfortably warm, or so bright. A moment later he noticed the rock walls, and he thought: cavern. What mainly kept his attention though, were the fields.

The floor of the cavern was rich soil, and most of the floorspace was taken up by the crops. Lloyd, raised in the farming community of Iselia, could identify wheat, corn, barley, and rice. He noticed the small orchard in a back corner, the trees visibly laden even at this distance. He glanced up and saw the source of the light, so like a summer's sunshine; a large array of angular, jutting crystals were set into the rock of the naturally domed ceiling, and glowed almost incandescently.

He heard someone give a call, and he looked down to see Sheena running towards them. She caught him up in a hug, and she grinned when she released him. "Sorry, but I can't talk now. I'll see you in a bit."

Lloyd spluttered as she left. He turned around to see a woman walking calmly. She wasn't an older edition of Sheena, though there was some resemblance. Her hair was just as dark, and the shape of the mouth, eyes, and chin were the same.

Athan, wiped his forehead off as she approached. "Mother, this is Lloyd. Lloyd this is Mariko, my…_our_ mother."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lloyd." Mariko said. She tilted her head, a slight furrow of concentration on her brow. Finally, she said, "Athan, go and make sure your sister doesn't get lost."

"But…" Athan shifted.

"I know you want to be here, but, please, let me talk with Lloyd without you standing over my shoulder to explain things."

Her son relaxed. "All right." He turned, and went downstairs.

Mariko was walking around Lloyd. "Well, well. I suppose my daughter's done alright with you." There was a slight tenseness to that statement. Lloyd could understand why—the first time this woman was meeting her daughter in years, her offspring had already been engaged. Lloyd could imagine that ache of having missed so much.

"Thanks…I think," he said, coming back to the present.

"You're welcome…I think," she said in a flash of mischief mixed with a hint of sadness. "Come along, Lloyd. I'll walk you around the fields and we can talk."

She turned and started down the straight path between two of the largest crops. Lloyd, not knowing what to expect, or what he _should_ expect, followed.


	27. Old Memories, Old Friends

Chapter 27: Old Memories, Old Friends

_Author's Note: I have something to say. I will say it once, and only once. Before I say it, I would like to say that I'm starting to get back on my authorial hot streak. I hope you enjoy it. Now, I would like to say what I want to say:_

_Ahem._

_TWO CHAPTERS POSTED IN TWO DAYS! BOOYAH!_

**Mariko slowed enough to let Lloyd catch up with her.** She eyed him thoughtfully. He was uneasy. She couldn't blame him. She'd be a touch nervous in his place.

His face was good. Not exactly handsome, but good.

His walked flowed with the coordination of a fighter. The easy balance he kept reminded her of Athan.

Mariko shook off her analytical thoughts. "Tell me about yourself, Lloyd."

"What has Sheena told you already?" he asked carefully.

"Enough to give me an idea of what to expect. You're idealistic, and circumstances have put you in a position to spread those ideals. You work hard. You're on a quest to rid the world of Exspheres. You come from a little farming community in Sylvarant. She met you when she was trying to kill your friend Collette."

"That's right," Lloyd said, but privately he wondered what was so idealistic about his beliefs. To him, working for a world without needless sacrifice and discrimination was the only thing he could do. He continued. "But what do you want to know about me? I don't know where to start."

"Everything," Mariko said at once, then she held in a laugh at his expression. "But, first, I'd like you to tell me about Sheena. Why do you love here?"

Lloyd risked a smile. "She's…well…she's a lot like me." He realized this sounded like something Zelos would say, and elaborated. "I mean, so much of what bothered her or hurt her feelings was stuff that I knew about and had felt. And so much of what pi—made me mad, she understood and could make me feel better about it."

"Based on understanding." The woman smiled. "That's a better way than most."

"Even when she said she was my enemy, I kept seeing her doing things that weren't bad. Like playing hide-and-seek with kids in this one town. And seeing her pray at a House of Salvation. We fought her, yeah, but we saw her more times than when she was attacking, and she backed off each time. So…I though she wasn't as bad as you'd think an enemy would be. Collette thought that, too, and kept trying to make friends with her."

Mariko couldn't help but chuckle at that. "That must have confused her."

Lloyd grinned. "Yeah, I think it did."

Mariko turned a corner in the bare path between the neat patches of crops, walking along a pea garden's length. "What do you want in life, Lloyd?"

She watched him _think_ about it. "Marry Sheena and be happy. Get rid of the Exspheres. To be able to convince someone of something without fighting them over it."

"Have you thought about children?"

He hadn't, she could tell by the look of panic crossing his face. She had to laugh. "You're such an innocent, Lloyd."

He tried to stammer out a response, but Mariko shushed him gently. "Don't worry too much. It's a bit early for that. But not too early to think about it," she added critically. "I'd like some grandchildren to spoil, and I'm sure your father would, too."

"Which one?" Lloyd asked without thinking.

The question threw her. Lloyd's brain caught up with his mouth and he explained. "I was raised by a dwarf. But my…real dad is Kratos. Did Sheena mention him?"

"Swordsman? Tall, she said he wears purple?"

"Yeah, him," Lloyd said. "So, I have two fathers." He stayed silent for a moment as they walked. Finally, he said, "Did Sheena tell you how the worlds were rejoined?"

"Yes, some. I heard more from the account that came through the monastery. I'd like to hear more, though."

Lloyd spent the better part of the next hour sketching in the events they'd gone through. Mariko proved to be a good listener, interrupting only when she wanted more details on this point or another—usually on something Sheena had done. Their circuit took them in a complicated loop around several fields, in the cavern heavy with the humid smell of growing things. As Lloyd finished, they were passing through the few dozen trees of the orchard.

"That's quite a story," she said, awed when he'd finished. "You did more in less than a year than most people do in their lives." She glanced up as a leaf from a low brushed grazed her head. "How about a snack?" She plucked a couple of apples from the laden branch.

Lloyd took his. "Yeah, I guess it is. But it's so...weird. It feels like it happened a million years ago. Like...ancient history." He bit into his. It was good, he noted. Not completely ripe, but the sour tang was still good. "So…what about you?" he asked.

Mariko genteely wiped a bit of peel from her mouth. "I keep myself busy. I've lived a good life so far, all things considered."

Lloyd took another bite. "How…wh--…" he trailed off, not knowing how to phrase the question politely.

Mariko smirked. "Just say it. I promise not to bite."

"Why did you leave Sheena at Mizuho? H…how did it feel, having you leave your kid with strangers?"

She inhaled. She'd hoped she'd have a good answer for this. "I…couldn't keep her. Her ability to summon made her a target. People offered to buy her. Some threatened. Some pleaded for the knowledge that could be gained. I think Athan told you about that." Lloyd's nod showed no harsh judgment. "My husband, Evan, was adamant that she not be raised as a mere tool, for research or power. He believed that would make her…less than human. An oddity, at best. He insisted that we didn't come to the Monastery, because she'd be raised as exactly what he feared—and that's no kind of way for a child to live. My husband had been to Mizuho on business for the Monastery, and they didn't seem as…fixated on magic. In the few weeks before he died, he told me often that if he _did_ die, to take Sheena to Mizuho." She noticed Lloyd's expression. "My husband's family had a history of sudden heart attacks. But the healers have said Athan's fine, praise Martel." She noted the pure relief spread across his face. "As I was saying, Evan thought Mizuho would be best for her to grow up. Hidden, but aware of the world, and where her talents wouldn't be of much interest." She wiped at an eye. "He wasn't quite right, was he?"

"That's…sad," Lloyd said quietly. "She ended up getting what you tried to save her from."

"It worked out for the best," she reminded him. "If she hadn't become a summoner, she wouldn't have joined you and your friends and the world would be split. I think things worked out for the best. When I think of it like that, I feel better." She stared at her apple, not really seeing it. "But I wish I could have been there for her in her life." She pulled herself together. Straightening, she gave him a smile, and chomped off a large piece of the apple. She said in a voice eerily like Sheena's, "I'll just have to make up for it, won't I? Get used to seeing me around, Lloyd. I'm going to be an active mother-in-law."

Lloyd grinned, and the response came without him thinking. "Whatever you say, Mom."

She fought back outright laughter, with the result of a piece of apple flesh snorting up her nose. She wiped her nose to rid herself of the fragment, and snapped a mock glare on you. "Look what you made me do! Robbing your elders of their dignity, you should be ashamed." She couldn't hold her mock severity in face of his grin. "Why don't you take a few of these for your friends?"

So they spent the last few minutes of their first meeting picking through, finding some of the choicer apples from the half-dozen or so laden trees. Lloyd was given a basket to carry them in.

Mariko watched him go, satisfied. Sheena had done quite well for herself, she thought. And Mariko was looking forward to a life spent doing more than tending plants, as much as she loved them.

That thought brought her back to reality. There was some work to be done, there was always some work to be done. She went from trees to tree in the brightly lit cavern, inspecting each for any of the myriad of problems that preyed on fruit trees. She hummed while she worked, and some of her nearby brothers and sisters of the order looked up from their tasks and smiled to see her moving with a definite sashay.

**Lloyd, Athan, and Sheena walked along the hallway.** The siblings were downing an apple each. They'd been waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. They didn't say much. They didn't have to. Lloyd was feeling content—he felt like a part of their family. Lloyd's family for most of his life had been a single, good-hearted, sometimes surly dwarf. Then he'd gained friends, and, eventually, knowledge of his real father, along with respect for the man. But he'd never had quite this feeling.

After a long while, Athan asked, "When do we leave?"

"I guess when we find everybody."

"Any idea where we'll go?"

"Over to Meltokio. I want to check on the bridge."

They didn't talk for the rest of the route through the seemingly identical hallways of the Monastery, but Sheena leaned her head on Lloyd. When they came into the training room of Athan's order, they found half their work was already done.

Raine was sitting at a small table that was practically hidden under the load of books covering it. Her guide—a hawkish-looking man Lloyd didn't know—was leaning against a wall, watching the exercises in the center of the room with some amusement.

Lloyd could see why. The second-rank monks were jumping in place. About two thirds of the way through the line, Elpida was between two of them, keeping up jump for jump. Lloyd noticed that even though she was the short person there by about six inches, the top of her head was level with theirs at the height of their jumps.

Athan ambled over to Raine's guide, and talked quietly with him. He came back a minute later. "Tern says he said Zelos and Ribs in the Order of Perse's section of the monastery." Seeing the blank looks, he said, "They do a lot of art. Want to come?"

"Sure," Lloyd said, wanting to see what the two would be up to.

"I'll pass," Sheena said. She nodded at them, and then got at the end of the line of jumping monks, and started keeping pace with them.

**A few minutes saw Athan leading Lloyd around the perimeter of the second floor of the library.** "Just on the other side of the library from us. It's easy to get to."

His definition of easy and Lloyd's were far from each other. Lloyd could keep his bearings in the library, but he hadn't learned to differentiate between the hallways, as Athan apparently could. The stocky fighter led Lloyd through several turns and hallways, eventually coming on a set of double doors at the end of a corridor.

He motioned Lloyd to be quiet, and eased one of the doors open soundlessly. He put his eye to the crack and looked inside. Lloyd heard him chuckle. Athan moved over and pointed at the crack.

Lloyd put his eye to it. He was looking down an aisle between tiered rows of seats. On either side were people bent over broad desks. At the bottom, in a half-circular space of level floor, in identical poses, were Zelos and Ribs. The skeleton was without his disguise, standing in the same stance as Zelos—hand on one hip, weigh on one leg, head turned slightly to left, slouching a bit.

"Let's wait for them to finish," Athan whispered into Lloyd's ear.

Ten minutes later, the dedicated of the order left the room, filing out. The pair went in.

Zelos and Ribs were at the bottom. Ribs was pulling on his coat, Zelos was saying something when he noticed the pair. "Oh, hey, Lloyd! Why're you here? Did you come admire the perfection of the two Great Handsome Warriors?"

Lloyd's mouth twisted into a crooked smile. "What was that?"

Ribs and Zelos, in near-perfect unison, put an arm around the other's shoulder and extended a hand with two fingers raised into a V. "We are the Great Handsome Warriors!" Zelos declared flippantly. "Masters of combat and the pinnacle of beauty! I am Zelos Wilder, and this is my bud, Ribs!"

He held the noble expression for a moment, before his 'hurt' face spread. "What's with that look?" he asked.

"I thought I was your buddy," Lloyd asked innocently.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd, but you're now a knight, and knights can't be buds with people. Your prestigious position of Zelos' Buddy has been filled by Ribs."

"And the great beautiful fighters-whatever?"

"You wouldn't know beauty if someone hit you with a sack of it, Lloyd," Zelos said airily. "But it turns out that Bones was a pretty good specimen. Not as good as me, of course."

"How'd you'd find that out?" Athan asked curiously.

Zelos grabbed a piece of paper from a desk, and passed it over. "The art master tried to work out what Ribs looked like, from the shape of his skull. Ribs says it's pretty close to what he remembers."

The pair looked at it. The face—head, actually—was drawn from several angles. It was sharp—a fine blade of a nose, striking cheekbones, a cleft chin, eyes large. It had an aristocratic look—a bit imperious, but good-looking in a pointy sort of way.

Ribs gently took it, and produced a pencil. He leaned on a desk, and his pencil blurred. Then he handed it back.

Hair and eyebrows had been sketched in. The hair didn't hang as far as Zelos's red cascade, but the tied-off tail would have touched between the shoulder blades, by Lloyd's guess. The eyebrows were fine curves. The set of them altered the face a bit, making the expression one of resolution and haughtiness.

Lloyd handed it back, nodding. "Very cool. Who knew that you could do that from looking at bones?"

Zelos nodded. "So what do you want?"

"We're going to leave tomorrow. Are you two coming?"

The pair glanced at each other, then again struck the pose. "Stay here on the frozen rock and deprive the world of seeing the Great and Wonderful Handsome Swordsmen Buds?" Zelos asked incredulously.

Lloyd couldn't help but laugh.

**The next day,** **Brodelaw woke them up early, by Lloyd's request.** The request also included that buckets of cold water not be involved in waking them up. Ever the gracious host, Brodelaw settled for rousing his more sleep-inclined guests—Lloyd and Zelos—via the simple expedient of lifting one side of the bed so they rolled onto the floor.

As they prepared to leave, there was a knock at the wide double doors in the training room. A monk opened it, to let in Ellis and Monlio, both looking tired but triumphant.

Ellis had had a bath, and she wasn't wearing the heavy protective gear. She went straight to Ribs, to hand him his sword and shield.

The customization had been thorough, Lloyd could see. The shield, its faced previously marked with so many scrapes and scratches and its rim with the odd notch taken out of it, looked like obsidian. Ribs turned it over in his hands. It looked about half its original thickness to Lloyd, but the back was a web of supports done in mythril, with strange, curving letters engraved into it. Ribs slung it on his back, and took a moment to appreciate the sword sheath.

It had been covered in leather, with flowing designs impressed on its length. He drew the sword, and everyone gave an appreciative stare.

The blade wasn't as wide or as thick as it had been, but lengthened. Its black surface was perfectly smooth, a black mirror. That narrow blade came to a paper-thin edge, and a point like a needle. The crosspiece had been replaced with a cup-like basket guard that surrounded the hand, again worked of mythril and inlaid with strange designs, but the curving script on this piece were inlaid with white. Ribs twisted it through the air, putting it through a graceful circular motion as he felt out the balance. He made a couple of passes, then his arm shot out in a lethal thrust.

"A rapier," Zelos said, impressed. "But that takes a different style than you know, right?" Ribs shook his masked skull, and handed the weapon over. Zelos looked at it in surprise. "It's _heavy_," he said in obvious confusion.

Monlio bowed gracefully. "Thank you. It was difficult to force morglin into a denser state, but, I dare to suggest, it is worth it."

_My first weapon was a rapier,_ Ribs said. Zelos waved it slightly, marveling at the balance, then handed it over. Ribs sheathed it, and bowed to the pair responsible.

Once Ribs' gestures were translated, Ellis said, "Something that good needs a name."

"Oo! Oo! _Oo!_ I know what to name it!" Elpida was doing a little excited dance.

Ribs turned to her. Everyone else did, as well. Ribs shrugged, and handed her the lethally sharp rapier. She took it. "It _is_ heavy," she noted. "This feels like a _Niri Vaur Laeln_ if I ever held one." To the surprise of everyone, she tossed it into the air and caught it with her other hand, the movement a blur. She passed it back to the revenant. "_Niri Vaur Laeln_ it is, then."

Ribs took _Niri Vaur Laeln_ and sheathed it gravely. Zelos's lips were moving silently. Finally, he said, "Elpida, that's angelic language, isn't it?"

"That's right," she said.

Zelos tried to translate. "Shadow…bright…ah…something the Bright Shadow?" He asked.

The small woman gave him a bright smile. "Study up on it and try again later."

"It sounds like a good name, though," Ellis said. "It's got a good sound to it, too. _Niri Vaur Laeln_."

It was, they agreed, a good name.

But once they'd gotten away from the Monastery, Ribs doubled over. No one knew what was wrong until he started slapping a knee. It slowly dawned on them as they watched his quaking shoulders and his erratic efforts to steer the Rheaird.

Ribs was laughing.

**It was nearly dark when their Rheairds touched down on the Meltokio side of the bridge.** Their arrival caused a stir among the few dozen workers at the bridge's mechanism. Eventually, a short figure extricated itself from the toil and came forward.

"Lloyd!" Angus roared. "Good to see you!" The dwarf slapped Lloyd on the back. "Whaddya think of what me and the lads have done?"

Lloyd looked up at it. He couldn't make head or tails of it. "I don't understand any of it. But…you've been getting work done, right?"

The dwarf's beard twitched as he smiled. "Aye. We're giving it a general tune-up before we put the new mechanism in. Two weeks, three at the very most, and this'll be open."

"You rock, Angus," Lloyd grinned.

Angus thumped his chest, making a hard flat sound like a slightly organic _clack_. "I _do_ try to keep myself fit. Thank ye for noticin', lad." He grinned so widely his teeth could be seen through his beard. "Wanna take the tour?"

"Thank Angus, I don't understand any of this, and we want to get to Meltokio."

"'S your loss, lad. These surface boys are making me change some opinions. You should see them workin' from sun up to noon, then they're down just long enough to fill their bellies and wet their throats, and then they're back up there until dark. And here I was thinkin' humans were all lazy."

Lloyd beamed with altitudinal pride. "Thanks, Angus."

"Well, if you have to go, then go, lad." Angus punched him in the arm. It was like being hit with a rock. "But just you be here when we finish."

"I will," Lloyd said, thinking of the Exspheres being collected from the bridge. "And I'll have some friends, too." One with silver hair and a knack for magic, he thought. Blowing up Exspheres in one move was faster than destroying them one at a time.

**The night was in full swing when Lloyd and his friends touched down outside of Meltokio.**

The streets were practically empty, and the friends had an easy walk through the city streets, up to Zelos' mansion.

When Zelos led the way inside, though, someone shouted inside. "_They're here!_"

It took Lloyd a moment to recognize the voice. Genis. And the half-elf sounded worried.

Lloyd pushed his way in past Zelos. "What're you doing here?"

Regal and Presea were coming into the room. All three faces showed a lack of sleep.

Genis said, "Lloyd, Palmacosta was attacked! They took so many people away!"

"What the hell?" Lloyd yelled.

Regal nodded. "I am afraid it's true, Lloyd. Palmacosta was attacked. And the raiders had Exspheres."


	28. The Angel Reborn

Chapter 28: The Angel Reborn

**"Who did it?"** Lloyd demanded. "How?"

"I don't know," Regal said. "I was knocked out." He sounded weary, and ashamed.

"They came right after we'd pulled wreckage out of the water," Genis said. "I didn't have any magic left."

"I saw their leader," Presea said. "He was average height, with light hair and expensive armor, and he fought with two shimmering swords." She looked at him gravely. "Wasn't that how you described Joseph?"

Lloyd's teeth ground together. He rubbed along the line in his chest where he'd be cut by Joseph's weapons, the Seraphim Feathers.

Genis shuddered. "You said he wasn't that good…but he fought like a whirlwind. He was right in the front of his people. He killed a few people, and then captured a lot of the rest. The only ones who got away were people who ran away. He has Pietro and Clara!"

"I'm going to end this," Lloyd said bleakly. "I'm going to Sylvarant to find him."

To general surprise, Elpida agreed first. "The bastards!" She snarled with ample venom. "They should leave them alone!"

"Leave who alone?" Sheena asked.

"Everybody! Ordinary people and the Exspheres, too!"

No one had seen her angry before, but it was only a moment before the others agreed.

Except Regal. The big man stared at his hands. Finally he said, "I apologize, Lloyd, but I cannot accompany you."

"Why not?" Lloyd asked.

"I cannot bring myself to end another life," Regal said quietly. "I've caused too much death already." His back straightened. "I shall go to the King and help him organize aid to the Palmacosta region, instead." Seeing the looks on their faces, he said, "I—" he faltered. "I cannot kill again. I can't."

Lloyd's face softened. "I wish I could say that. But I can't let Exspheres be let loose again. No matter what." He rubbed at the Exsphere on the back of his hand. No matter what.

**Lloyd woke up just as the sun rose.** He'd been set on leaving immediately, but the others had talked him into staying long enough to sleep and stock up on supplies.

He'd only gotten about four hours' sleep, but he felt like he was on fire. He rolled out of bed, and immediately woke his friends, asleep in the various bedrooms around Zelos' mansion. They set out without breakfast, Lloyd urgency spreading to the others.

**By midmorning, they were in sight of the eastern shoreline of the Palmacosta region.** Elpida was the one to notice the plume of smoke rising from Hakonesia Peak. She brought it to the attention of the others, and they'd turned in that direction.

The smoke was from a fire in front of Koton's house. The treasures the old man collected were in heaps here and there. A dozen men were spread out among the various piles. Every so often, one of them would throw something—usually furniture or an art object on the fire.

The party set down a couple of hundred yards away. Lloyd left to scout things out, and no one argued with him. Elpida even came along. When he was close enough, Lloyd called "What's going on?" in a friendly voice made of 100 artificial additives.

One of the armed, armored men looked up. "Nothing that you need to worry about."

Elpida began scanning around the piles, hoping to see a glint of what she was looking for.

"Is that so?" Lloyd said. "There's an old man that lives here. Is he on a trip?"

The speaker looked up, and nudged the man next to him. They both grinned. "Actually, he's sick."

"Sick?" Lloyd said, expecting the guy to follow up on it.

"Yeah. He caught a bad case of dead after hitting Cygin here when we were dragging his stuff out here." The fighters were rising from their work to form a loose semicircle around Lloyd.

"You murdered him," Lloyd said quietly. He drew his swords. His friends had noticed the confrontation, and were hurrying over

Unnoticed by any of them, Elpida bent over a pile of junk, frantically pulling stuff from it. Her hand closed over a jewelry box. She opened it, and smiled when she saw her ring. She took it, and read the tag attached before breaking it off.

She turned it over in her small hand first. Memories were surfacing, her thoughts focusing. Memories of a burning drive to accomplish something great, memories of an absolute faith, and of power granted in response to that faith.

Her wings spread out, silvery shimmers in the air. She slid the ring onto her finger.

The flare of white light surprised everyone, etching the world in blinding white and rich black.

Lloyd shielded his eyes, then stared at his Exsphere. It was tingling, and he felt oddly…happy.

The light lessened, not so much dying at it was being contained. It shrank until it was only in Elpida's eyes, filling it from edge to edge.

Her feet were several inches above the ground. She held out a hand, and light blossomed out and coalesced into a small bow of light. An arrow, an incandescently-white spike, appeared. She drew back the bow, and pointed the arrow at the mercenary leader.

"Submit," she said imperiously, and every Exsphere there resonated to her voice.

The mercenary unslung his shield and drew his sword. "Submit to what?" he demanded.

"Judgment. Throw down your weapons, and live peacefully, and you shall be shown mercy." Her voice was calm, commanding.

"Who're you to order us?" he snarled.

"You refuse?" she inquired.

"Yes!" His men drew their weapons and chorused their own affirmative.

Her tone didn't change. "Then die violently." She released the arrow. It streaked through the air, raising a trail of greasy smoke as it burned its way through the man's heart.

Elpida disappeared in a brief rush of light, and was almost instantly by one of the piles of antiques. She bent down, and picked up a pair of exquisitely made broad-bladed daggers. She weighed them thoughtfully in her hands.

A man recovered from the horror of his leader's demise. He darted for her, sword ready. She pointed a dagger at him and said softly. "Holy Lance."

She disappeared before the first lance had impaled the man. She reappeared on the other side of the yard, and held out the daggers. Light slid out of edge of the short blades, lengthened until they were the length of swords, burning white shapes in the air

Lloyd was staring at the pile of Koton's treasures. The Spiritua Statue was on it.

He'd seen it, or at least others like it, so many times that he hadn't really noticed the features of it in years. He looked at the face of the statue, then Elpida's face.

He remembered the Tethe'allan legend of Spiritua, told to him by Zelos once.

_No one knew where she'd come from._

Elpida cut a man down, the searing blade encountering no resistance as it sheared through metal armor, flesh, and bone.

_She charmed all who met her and rallied the people to the Church of Martel._

Two men fell to her arrows.

_The King had assumed she wanted his throne, and summoned her. He'd told her that he would massacre the followers of Martel if Spiritua didn't disband them and give herself up for treason._

Elpida sliced through two men in one swipe.

_Spiritua's reply was a demand that he convert to the Church of Martel. The King called in his regiment of personal guards._

She appeared before another man, her blades slashing down crosswise in an X that went from shoulder to hips.

_The King died first. The guards fought to the last man. When it was over, Spiritua prayed for their forgiveness and left the room littered with corpses._

She skewered two at once as they came at her.

_She'd stayed on, organizing the new church and giving instructions for its practices._

The last three men got back to back, facing outwards.

_After picking her successor as the Chosen, she'd left. No one knew where she went._

Elpida appeared again, her swords and her eyes equally bright.  
_The people remembered her and her power._

She streaked towards the group.

_The people said she would return someday._

She slashed once.

_They said she would come as the Angel of Death._

She slashed again.

_She would bring Heaven's wrath on those who commit blasphemy._

She slashed a third time.

_And the people prayed they were wrong._

The light extending from her daggers gently split into pieces and faded. Elpida's feet touched back on the ground, and her wings disappeared. The white fire drained out of her eyes.

Lloyd's friends remembered themselves, and ran forward to stand by Lloyd.

Elpida looked at the carnage around her. She dropped down, bringing her knees to her chest. She buried her face in them, and cried like a child.


	29. Spiritua

Chapter 29: Spiritua Reborn

**Elpida sat some ways from the house, listening to the others.** They were scared. She didn't blame them. She drew her knees up to her chest, rested her arms across them, and leaned her head on her forearms, and waited. She heard the cute half-elf, Genis, say, "You said she was nice!"

"I did. She _is_," Athan said, his tone bewildered. Then she heard him say suddenly, "Professor, what are you doing?"

Raine's voice sounded a touch embarrassed. "Well, I was just going to go ask…"

Genis sighed. "Not right now, Raine."

Elpida waited, wanting them to work things out on their own.

**Lloyd stood in Koton's house.** The old man seemed even smaller in death than he had in life. Methodically, his eyes took in the scene.

Koton's torn body was lying in the middle of a puddle of sticky blood. Lloyd noticed footprints, in brownish-red, going here and there on the floor. They'd walked through his blood while they were carting the old man's belongings out.

Lloyd hadn't liked Koton. The old man had been greedy, insulting, and disrespectful to women. Yet, somehow, his murder infuriated Lloyd. Through the white-hot flows of anger, he remembered something Zelos said. "The people that I like, and the people that I don't, all have a right to be here." Something like that, anyway.

Lloyd left the little house that stank of blood, and fixed a flat look on his friends. "Help me find a shovel," the swordsman said.

They hurried to comply—except Zelos. The redheaded man shifted. "Lloyd, I'm going to back out of this one." He glanced, seemingly unconsciously, to where Elpida sat. "I'm going to try to talk to her."

Lloyd's face softened slightly. "All right. And…tell her I think I know who she is."

"Who?" Zelos asked intently.

"Ask her yourself." Lloyd went to look around the house.

**Elpida tilted her head slightly.** She heard someone walking up behind her. Graceful, but masculine. A bit rustly, like…silk. And a glow of mana, the color uniquely his.

"What is it, Zelos?"

Zelos, for all of his skill at talking, could only think of one thing that was even remotely close to appropriate. "Are you okay?"

"No."

He sat down beside her. "Lloyd thinks he knows who you are."

She broke off from staring into space, and looked up at him, emerald green eyes a mystery. "Did he say what, exactly?"

"No. He didn't seem angry about it, though." Zelos risked a smile. "Want to tell me?"

She sighed, and ran a hand through her rich purple hair. Then she laid back, staring up at the sky. When she settled, she finally said, "You're from Tethe'alla, right?"

"Yeah."

"I imagine the stories about Spiritua aren't very nice. That, or they covered it up."

Zelos grimaced, getting an idea. He paled.

"Funny. They didn't get my name right. Spiritua was just a…a title. I mean, who'd name their kid _Spirit_ua.?"

"So you're…her?" Zelos had to say.

She sat up partially, reached out a hand, and thumped him on the back of the head. "_Yes_, Zelos, I am Spiritua." When she said that, she sounded older.'

Zelos took in a breath and let it out slowly. "Wow…so…what really happened? Where were you born?"

"This side, actually. Little-bitty hick town called Iselia. It was basically a shop and a few houses."

"It hasn't changed much," Zelos said. Now he tried silence, to see if she'd elaborate on her own.

It didn't work. Finally, he asked. "How'd you become the first Chosen?"

"It started with dreams. A beautiful angel came and told me I'd do great things. My family thought I was crazy when I told them. Then he came in person." She giggled half-heartedly. "Yggdrasill was just as hot as he was in the dream." She smirked at the memory. "To mess with him, I asked him out on a date."

"You _what?_" Zelos started laughing. "That must have confused him."

"Yeah, he blushed like a little boy, and the look on his face! After that, he told m to take the crystal in this monotone voice…it was like he was reading from a script." She giggled.

Zelos was interested. "Then what?"

"I took the crystal, and he said I had to go on a journey. Then this hot guy with blue-green hair appeared and blondie said he'd accompany me."

"Yuan, right?"

"You've met him?"

"Several times."

"Yeah, well, blondie left, and Yuan said we had to go to Triet and do a ritual there. We went there, and, me being my charming self, we picked up a couple of people who just…came along. Yuan didn't care much for that, but I brought him around. And we got to what he called the seal, and he gave me this ring. Tacky, but it could do cool stuff, like shoot out a little bit of fire." She frowned. "I wonder what happened to that ring…"

"What happened at the ritual?" Zelos could predict, but he wanted confirmation.

"Actually…a lot. We barely scraped through against this big hellcat-thing. Then Yggdrasill showed up again and said I had proven myself worthy." She gave a silvery little laugh. "I asked him if that meant the date was on. But, no, he said I had to become an angel. And…that crystal I'd been carrying attached to me. It's still a part of me."

Zelos gave her an odd look. "Where is it?"  
She absently touched her chest. "My heart."

The former Chosen suppressed a shudder. "And then?"

"That night I was woozy and achy, like I had a fever. My wings sprouted and…things got weirder from there on."

Zelos remembered his own transformation, and what he'd heard—and seen—of Colette's. "I know what you mean."

"Aside from that, things were amazing. I had a purpose! It felt like I was on fire! Yggdrasill gave me a book and said I should preach of the Goddess Martel. My first sermon was at Palmacosta."

She smiled at the past. "It was fun. I made a lot of friends, we had good times, and the entire time I felt like I could reach into the sky and pull down fire. At each seal, I got stronger and stronger. Eventually, this huuuuuge tower appeared and Yggdrasill said I had to go there.

"I did…and only Yuan came with me. He said we were close to the end. But when we were inside, Blondie said I had to do the same thing for another world."

'Tethe'alla," Zelos stated.

She nodded. "And I just walked out of the tower, and I was someplace else. Yuan was still with me, but I didn't really need him tell me what to do."

She sighed, and went quiet.

Zelos nudged her. "So…?"  
"I opened all the seals. Fired people up about Martel. And then that _damn_ fool king tried to mess me up." She shuddered. "That was a nightmare…"

Zelos thought of the slaughtered mercenaries. "Er…yeah."

"Something…took over, and I watched myself kill all those guards and the king. Then, well, the Prince was too afraid of me to do anything, so I figured the Church was safe, and I'd arranged things as I was told to. I picked out my successor, ad then went back to the Tower of Salvation. Yggdrasill said I had earned my reward. I felt, well, normal, and asked him if there was time for that date. He said no, and I just sort of fell asleep." She continued, half to herself, "I slept for so long…I thought, 'So this is death. It's not so bad.'"

Zelos felt oddly small. The sheer _acceptance_ in her voice. He didn't say anything.

"Next thing I know, I'm waking up in an Exsphere mine, with all these dwarves looking down at me." She sat up, running a hand through her hair to dislodge leaves. "Is that enough for you, Zelos?"

"Everything I wanted to know. Thanks." He put an hand on her arm, asking roguishly, "Feel better?"

Her smile was mischievous. "Yeah." She pulled him down and planted a kiss on his nose. "Thanks, Fred."

She rose to her feet and picked up the daggers she'd laid down. She turned them over, almost fondly. Zelos watched as she examined one more closely, as if reading something. Then she noticed his attention. "Pretty things, huh? I need a weapon, so…these will do." She walked to the pile of junk they'd come from and dug through it. She came out with a belt and matching sheaths. She buckled it on and sheathed her daggers.

Elpida stared at the bodies of the dozen men. She shrugged, and went through the gristly business of checking them. "Zelos?"

"Yeah?"

"Go away. Help the others or something."

Zelos complied, glancing over his shoulder at her.

On each of the bodies, she found what she was looking for. Each man had an Exsphere. And the leader…she frowned, and pulled off his other gauntlet.

Yes, the leader had another one, but it was an odd color. A Cruxis Crystal, she decided. She removed all of the Exspheres from the bodies, and went from corpse to corpse. A quick chant over a body produced a ball of light that incinerated the corpse to ashes.

She cremated each one, and, stowing away the Exspheres, walked around the house.

Lloyd had found a shovel, and he'd been making use of it. His strength and endurance let him dig almost mechanically, the stoic expression suggesting that he would continue until it was done.

Eventually, Genis timidly asked for the shovel. The swordsman handed it over, and the half-elf continued the task.

Sheena gave her fiancé a questioning look. "Why are you burying Koton?"

Lloyd said quietly, "Because no one else will."

Lloyd, Genis, Zelos, and Athan took turns with the shovel. The grave was the proper depth, but with their combined efforts, it was done by sundown.

Elpida helped them lower Koton to his rest, and helped fill in the grave. When it was done, she prayed over it—a general prayer that hoped that he would be judged by his best and not his worst.

Afterwards, the others went to build a fire and set up camp. Elpida wandered around until she found a convenient rock. She kneeled by it and, using the tip of a dagger, crushed the Espheres against it, one by one.

As each one was destroyed, she felt the tiny sigh of relief and exultation. When the dozen exspheres and the Cruxis Crystal were destroyed, she sheathed the dagger, and went back to the others.


	30. Separation

Chapter 30: Separation

_Author's Note: I'm done with my first year of college, so, hopefully, I can finish this up without any more distractions. I'm going to try to have this finished before Chapter 1's first birthday._

**"…and I thought, 'So this is death. **It's not so bad. The next thing I know, I'm waking up and looking at a bunch of beards. That was a couple of years ago."

The group around the fire stayed quiet as they somberly digested Elpida's past.

Finally, Raine said, "It doesn't make sense, Elpida. _Why_ were you put in that Exsphere cave?"

"I don't know," the angel admitted. "Maybe it's because I'm so compatible with Exspheres." She shrugged.

She met the group stare. "What?"

"How do you know how compatible you are with Exspheres?"

"There was a party in Palmacosta after I gave my first sermon. I found Yuan and slipped a little something into his drink and he became _very_ talkative. He's so _adorable_ when he's drugged," she added with a sunny smile.

They had all suspected that Elpida was more devious than she'd previously let on, but suspicion did not come close to the truth.

"So now you know my story," she said. "What do w do now?"

They turned to Lloyd. He seemed not to notice. "These men were mercenaries and they had Exspheres. I think they were working for Joseph. We don't know where he is, so I think we should split up and check out different areas of this half of the continent and see if we can find anything."

"How will we get around?" Genis demanded. "The mana's not thick enough for us all to go different ways with the Rheairds. We need Sheena for those, remember?"

"That's easy. We go around the continent. One group will check out the area around here, the second will check around Hima, and the third will use the Rheairds and cover the northern chunk of the continent."

"Three groups and three people to a group?" Raine asked curiously.

"Sure. One fighter, one magic-user, and one healer per group," Lloyd said promptly.

"Wonders never cease," Raine murmured. "He's learned strategy."

"Sheena?" Lloyd asked. "Who do you want to go with on the Rheairds?"

Sheena glanced at the faces. "You and Zelos."

The remaining six immediately went into a discussion. "Hey, Bone Dome," Elpida said. "You're with me."

"I can heal some," Athan volunteered.

"Then come with me and Presea," Genis told him.

Raine walked over to Elpida and Ribs. "It seems I'm with you."

Elpida put on her best pout. "Is that so bad?"  
"Not at all. I have questions for both of you."

"Right, gang." Lloyd stood up. "Let's get some sleep and tomorrow we'll split up."

**A few days later, Genis woke up.** For a moment, he thought it was still dark. However, a glance towards the east told him that it wasn't far until the sun peaked over the horizon. He might even be the first one up.

The half-elf rose to his feet, and scratched at his chin as he savored the silence. A metallic _clink_ turned him around.

Athan was standing at an angle to a rock. He'd propped a small mirror against a dip in the surface and the monk was peacefully shaving with an old cutthroat razor.

"_Pfft._ Morning."

"Good morning," Genis said as he watched. He scratched an itch on his chin, thinking Athan looked strange with white foam on his face.

"You're up early," the monk noted.

"I went to sleep early last night." The half-elf had been tired. Their group had volunteered to make a loop around the area and then go to Asgard; there had been a lot of walking.

"Mmmhmm."

"Where'd you get that?" Genis asked, afire with curiosity.

Athan finished a stroke before saying, "What, this shaving set? It was my dad's, and when I was old enough, my mother gave it to me."

Genis watched the straight razor glide up the neck, follow the curve of the jaw, and move up a cheek.

Athan rinsed it in a small bowl of water after he was done. He dabbed at his face with a little towel, checking the mirror to make sure he got all the remnants of foam. He glanced at Genis. "You keep scratching your chin. Why?"

"It _itches_," Genis said, scratching harder.

Athan moved closer. "Let me see." He ran an experimental thumb across the bottom of Genis' chin, feeling very short, fine,hairs that were impossible to se. The monk grinned suddenly. "Congratulations. You're growing a beard."

"It's annoying," Genis said.

"Then I believe you're due for your first shave, then. Come on, you can use my set."

**"Don't rush," Athan said.** "Shave when there's not much chance there will be a crisis or a loud noise, so you don't rush and cut yourself." He passed the little sharpening stone a few times over the already slick blade. "Keep a sharp razor, too. And for Martel's sake, don't put the razor to any skin without lather on it. You'll peel your skin off, otherwise."

Then the monk watched as Genis hesitantly shaved himself. When the maturing young man was about halfway finished, Presea padded over to watch. It wasn't a bad first attempt at shaving, and the bleeding stop after Athan laid a hand on his shoulder, concentrated, and said, "There."

Athan began to clean and pack up the little kit. "Where do we go today?" he asked without looking up.

Presea, almost absently, ran a hand along Genis' freshly-shaven chin. She pulled her hand away when he blushed. "We're closed to Asgard and haven't seen anything. We may as well go there and take the time to restock. " She wrinkled her nose. "And we all need a bath. You two are starting to smell."

Athan grinned. "No, Presea. _You're_ starting to smell. _We're_ starting to stink."

**The walk to Asgard wouldn't have been so bad, except the morning heated rapidly, and there was no breeze.** Athan seemed unaffected, apart from the sweat rolling down his face and sometimes dripping off the end of his nose. Genis panted sometimes, but he found he could keep going by simply not thinking about it. Presea, however, had been raised in the coolness of Ozette. She bore the heat in stoic silenc, but she was looking forward to Asgard and its perpetual cool wind.

**The trio knew immediately something was wrong.** The city seemed unusually empty, and a somewhat slapdash gate had been installed in the only path to the city. A bored-looking man in mismatched armor rose from a chair. "State your names and business."

Athan spoke quickly, before the other two. "Athan Donu, Genis Sage, and Presea Combatir, here to stay at an inn."

"That expensive inn is now the home of Damien," The official went on, "ruler of this district."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but we've just sailed back here from a trip to Tethe'alla. When did the change of government occur?"

"When Lord Joseph established him as ruler of Sylvarant and divided this continent into districts."

"Thanks. You've been helpful." Athan dipped a hand into a pocket, coming out with a handful of Gald.

The man showed a bit of interest for the first time and reached for the tip.

Athan punched him with his free hand. He dropped the Gald onto the man's comatose form. Then the monk rounded on his companions. "Get your weapons ready. Now."

Genis unfurled his whip while Presea unshouldered the Gaia Cleaver.

Athan popped his knuckles, then turned his attention to the little gat. His slanted eyes narrowed. A punch smashed a pole, sending splinters flying from the break. A kick snapped another one. The monk demolished the gate and came through, his face a grim mask.

Several armor-clad me were rushing towards them. Athan counted nine before they stopped in front of the group. One shouldered his way to the front. "You're under arrest for crimes against the Asgard district. Drop your weapons!"

Athan's grin spread almost from ear to ear. "Don't have any." He spun and lashed out with a foot. The kicked snapped the man's arm to an odd angle, and then Athan, Genis, and Presea were rushed by the others.

"What do you think you're_ doing_?" Genis demanded as he snapped his whip out. The weapon curled around the soldier's sword several times. The man tried to jerk his sword back as Genis hauled on the whip.

Two pieces of sword fell to the ground.

"He pissed me off," Athan answered as he punched a deep dent into a breastplate and the chest behind it. He heard a wet _crunch_ and whirled around to see Presea jerk her axe out of the chest of a man who _had_ been sneaking up.

Genis lashed out with his whip, the dense line of mythril cutting through the mercencary's breastplate even as it sliced through miscellaneous organs. The half-elf snapped his arm out, muttering a quick chant, then leveled a hand at mercenary approaching.

The spell Grave activated right under him, causing quite a mess.

The fight was brutal and one-sided. Athan took out the last two by grabbing a man's arm and whirling around twice to build up momentum.

The man's flight carried him into a comrade, who had the misfortune to be standing on the edge of the canyon that bordered the city. Athan watched the pair go over almost clinically. "That's all of them."

Presea hit his arm, and then pointed. "More are coming!"

**Inside the Cool Breeze inn, a mercenary hammered at the door to a room. **"Lord Damien!"

When that failed to produce results, he steeled himself, and went in.

Damien was asleep in his bed. The soldier knew that Damien rarely left his room before noon, but he had never imagined that his commander spent the time sleeping in!

He shook Damien's shoulder. "Wake up, sir!" He glanced sharply at the nightstand, where Damien's whip was laying. Had it moved just then? He shook off the thought. "Sir, wake up! There are intruders!"

He finally lost patience with his gently snoring commander. "Get up you damn lazy—"

Damien's golden-glowing eyes opened into instant alertness. A hand snatched up the handle of the whip.

The soldier wasn't ever sure what happened next. Damien's arm stayed where it was, but the end of that thick whip snapped over like a striking scorpion.

Damien watched his underling collapse to his knees, and the man's head drop onto Damien's chest, with the end of the whip still touching his forehead.. "That was excessive," he murmured, though he didn't sound upset.

The whip's end curled back from where it had struck the man's forehead, the several-inch-long, knife-shaped stinger coming out bloody.

The thought came into Damien's mind. _Hunger._ The end of the whip trailed slowly across the floor, leaving a light scratch across the wooden boards.

"You will be sated with these intruders," Damien promised as he pushed the dead man off of him.

The thought next was an imperative. _Kill._

The six inches of white bone, angled and slender like a single-edged knife, began to drip a clear fluid from its point, drawing a sizzling line across the floor.


	31. Necessity

Chapter 31: 

**Ribs walked in the front, listening to the conversation of the two women.** "He's deeper than he looks and acts, Raine," Elpida, for once, was being serious. "He's been hurt--on the inside."

"We all have been, Elpida," the half-elf reminded her.

"Well, yes. But this, well, I don't think he was strong enough to deal with it. So he hid from it. And he's been hiding ever since and he's ashamed of that. Now, though, he's starting to get over it."

"True empath," Raine said again, marveling. "You understood that much from Zelos?"

Ribs smiled inwardly. True empathy was a rare talent, had been so even back in his life. He was surprised that Raine even knew of it. But, then, somebody with a talent to sort through the feelings and emotional burdens of entire groups of people was bound to be pop up every now and then. Elpida proved to have catalogued the mental makeups of each of the party members, except for Genis and Presea, whom she had not been around enough.

That might be a big reason why Mithos had chosen her, Ribs thought. Ribs had searched long and hard for an empath during the war, wanting somehow to get an idea of what the other side was thinking.

The three were walking to Hima. Lloyd, Sheena, and Zelos had dropped them off to the west of Luin a few days ago. The mountain Hima rested upon was on their left as they followed the road to the expanding town.

They had an hour's more walking when they heard a distant explosion and saw a trail of smoke stretch out in the distance. Raine looked stricken. "That's where the town is! Hurry!" She began to run.

Elpida proved the faster and caught up to her. "No, Raine! Like this!" Elpida's wings spread and she lifted off the ground. She wrapped her arms around Raine as she shouted to Ribs. "Catch up!"

And then the angel was gone, speeding as fast as she could towards the town.

Ribs watched for a moment, shook his head, and ran, faster than a living hoping could hope to, unhindered by limits of muscles. He hoped, _prayed_ it was not an actual battle.

**Raine had gotten accustomed to flying while on a Rheaird, with her feet on the vehicle's reassuringly solid metal. **Now she was hurtling through the air, carried by a woman smaller than she was. It was almost as bad as falling into a pond.

Elpida, however, wasn't going to drop her. In a few minutes, she covered more than an hour's walking. There was a battle happening down below, on the rocky red road that led up the mountain. The invaders were having to fight uphill, and the defenders--the workers who had been expanding the town--had turned pieces of debris,mostly in the form of boulders, into impromptu weapons, rolling them down the hill.

Elpida was almost struck senseless at all the Exspheres. Without trying she could tell that the attackers had them. She bit her lip; soon the defenders would run out of rocks and then they would be taken apart.

A flash and a crack caught her eye. She glanced and grinned. A head of long green hair was whirling through the attackers, and she caught glimpses of a familiar weapon as its slashes were punctuated by bursts of Thunder magic.

Even as she watched, a space opened up in the attackers and a woman dressed in a blue robe floated forward. She had wide-reaching, transparent golden wings.

"Hold on," Elpida growled. She went into a dive at this angel. Whoever this Joseph was, he'd found a way to make damn _angels. _Whoever that was down there, Yuan would have his hands full.

**Yuan fought as well as he ever had, each strike flowing into another, but the angel, without any obvious effort, wasn't in the way when he whipped a blade across.** Her mocking smile stayed in his mind. He had never been as accomplished a fighter as Mithos or Kratos, but to think he couldn't beat this woman who couldn't have been an angel for two months!

Then she was close to him--too close!--and her hand pushed against the middle of his stomach, an instant before the mana sparked, several sizzling bursts happening in a single second. Yuan fell, and the angel bent, a glowing lance coalescing into her grip.

Her finishing blow never came. Elpida, coming in like a bolt of silver, dropped Raine only a second before she herself plowed into the angel. They both tumbled across the red, rock-strewn ground. Raine, several yards away, got to her knees, groaning.

Elpida levered herself up. "Heal Yuan and get out of here!"

Not looking to see if the half-elf complied, Elpida got to her feet, snatching out her daggers. She watched the woman get up more slowly.

"You're strong," the woman purred. "Lord Joseph could find a place for you."

"No." Elpida's green eyes were flat with anger.

"Surely a fellow elfkin like yourself can see the point of his cause..."

"No."

The woman's face twisted. "Don't you even want to know my name?"

_"No." _The light flared around Elpida, and her daggers sprouted those blazing blades. And then the angel rushed the person who had so badly hurt a friend.

**Raine laid a hand on Yuan.** She gathered her life-force with a speed born of experience as she imagined a circle surrounding them, then forced her vitality into that image.

The charred flesh on Yuan's abdomen smoothed out and color returned to his face. His eyes opened, but Raine held him down. "Stay down!"

She gave him a couple of First Aids for good measure, then stood helped him to his feet. "Hurry, Yuan! Elpida wants us away from that angel."

Yuan bent to pick up his weapon, then rose to his feet. "I thought I could take her," he added, face hard. "Joseph is more of a threat than I thought, though."

Raine practically pulled him along. "Joseph's responsible for her?"

Yuan nodded tersely. "He's found a bunch of Cruxis crystals, and doled them out among his lieutenants. I don't know _where_ he got them, but they each turn a person into powerful angel. I've been destroying them as I've come across them."

"The crystals or the angels?"

"Both," he said grimly.

**Liriel found herself pressed with every move she made. **That girl with the purple hair fought like she had demons in her! Liriel was sure the other angel (who knew where she had came from?) was holding back her full strength.

Liriel fought with her favored type of weapon, a lance, though this one was constructed of burning light. She twisted and whirled, stabbed and swung, but as the fight wore on, she came nowhere close to landing a solid hit as her opponent worked her swords with surprising talent.

Then one of those burning swords whipped out. Liriel tried to parry, but the tip of the sword sizzled a line across her middle, just barely grazing the skin.

A mere graze was agonizing. A solid hit would be fatal, Liriel realized. She teleported away, wanting nothing more to do with this fight.

She appeared in the command tent of her captain. "Kill them all!" she snarled at him.

**Elpida teleported back to within the defenders' side of the battle.** She saw Raine and Yuan through the crowd. _Good_. Elpida was glad he was alright. But she couldn't see a way to win this fight, short of a repeat of what had happened so long ago in that throne room. And _that_ wasn't an option. And all those exspheres so close made it hard to think...

It clicked.

She let her daggers become normal weapons of steel, and sheathed them. She closed her eyes.

There were maybe a hundred exspheres she could feel. She understood she had a limited range. But it would be enough. She listened to the spheres.

_Grief. Grief and pain. Horror that they were being used to drag others down._

Elpida rose into the air. "Behind me!" she yelled. "Get behind me!"

The workers-turned-defenders didn't need to be told twice. They rushed back behind her, and turned around. The attackers tried to pursue, but a few dozen sizzling arrows convinced them that it'd be a smart move to stay back.

Elpida dropped down in the empty space between the two forces, and let her bow dissipate. Hating herself for doing this, she reached out to the Exspheres, and suggested that anger might be more satisfying than sadness.

**The small army stopped, almost to a man.** They felt their hands itch where the keycrests touched begin to itch. Then they felt...anger. Directed at them.

And then there was only pain.

The change ran through almost the whole mass of the soldiers. Each man felt his body contorting, breaking itself, only to heal only to break itself once again.

A third of them died in the transformation. Another third grew misshapen, towering above a normal man's height while their bodies degenerated and they died hemorraging blood and ichor.

The remaining third were driven beyond sanity by the pain, and attacked whatever was near--at first each other, but then their comrades unaffected by the change were the focus of their attacks.

**Liriel was horrified.** The girl had unleashed her army's exspheres! Horror became visceral fury in a moment. The curses started low and built into a grating crescendo as Liriel vented what she would do to Elpida. Then she calmed. "Get ready to leave. We must report our failure to Lord Joseph." She turned to her commander, a huge man whose battle prowess, in her eyes, made up for him being a pure human.

He wasn't moving.

"Come on," she demanded creating her spear of light.

He toppled forward, the hilt of a dagger sticking out of the back of his thick neck. A skeleton, bones brownish-yellow with age, had been right behind him. It stepped forward, and bent down. A fleshless hand casually pulled the dagger out, wiped it on the man's cape, and dropped it into a pouch.

An eyeless gaze focused on her. A hand drew out a long, black rapier, its edge honed until it was as thin as paper.

Liriel teleported.

**Elpida flew from point to point, sniping at the soldiers and the twisted ones alike.** She did have the mercy to aim to kill, but it seemed every one of the pain-maddened monsters needed several arrows before it went down.

Then that woman appeared, her back to Elpida not twenty feet away. Elpida let her bow dissipate--it wouldn't be that effective against another angel--and drew her daggers. She leaned forward, moving towards her enemy. When Elpida was a few feet away the woman whirled, eyes wild. Elpida's daggers gained those extensions that made them sword-length.

"Joseph will avenge me," the golden-winged angel promised.

"We'll see." Elpida said calmly. "I'm Iris, by the way."

"Liriel..." her eyes narrowed. "Why now? Wh--" She saw Elpida's eyes flicker over her shoulder, and began to turn.

Too late. The slender, black blade of Ribs' rapier pierced, coming out through her robes.

Ribs twisted the blade around in her, pushing it until he was sure it had bit her heart, to be sure, then pushed her body off of it.

"You can move quietly when you want to, huh?" Then Elpida looked at Liriel with a kind of regret. "Ribs...you do what you have to, don't you? Even if you don't like it."

She looked up to see the skeleton nod. Elpida took a breath. She bent and examined Liriel, finding the Cruxis Crystal and its key crest on the back of her hand.

Elpida pulled them off of the body, and laid them on the bare red rock of the mountain, and drew a dagger. She set the point against the Cruxis Crystal.

She would do what she had to.


	32. Information

Chapter 32: Information

**Sheena wandered the streets of Luin. **They'd been here for a day, and things were surprisingly normal here. There was no hint that a rogue army was on the continent.

She saw what she was hoping for, and went down to the docks, walking into the houseboat that Aifread had tricked them over twice.

Orochi stood up. "Sheena," he said pleasantly. "Good to see you."

"You, too." She sat down on the floor. "I saw the marker, and I want information. What have you learned?"

Orochi sat on the small bed. "The former Design Joseph has put together an army and found the Exspheres to equip them all. He intends to make himself ruler of Sylvarant."

"How far has he gotten?"

"Palmacosta is currently abandoned after he paid a visit there. Asgard went down without a fight. I _heard_ a detachment was going to Hima. He seems to be keeping away from Luin for right now. Probably doesn't think it's important enough."

"Where did he get the Exspheres?"

"Apparently there were extensive deposits in the ground around the Tower of Salvation. We're not certain, but we think when the Great Tree went berserk, its proximity awakened the Exspheres in a ridiculously short time. He's also got some angels as lieutenants, and than means he's found some useable Cruxis Crystals, probably from the same source."

Sheena groaned.

Orochi looked at the next Chief curiously. "Are they as strong as the stories we're getting?"

"Strong enough that ordinary people won't have a chance."

"That's odd in itself. Joseph has six lieutenants to start with, and he sent three to the other continent. Those have been found slain and their exspheres crushed. I heard from a reliable source that Joseph was livid about that."

"What else can you tell me about his lieutenants?"

"Only that some are stronger than the others."

"What about Joseph himself?" Sheena pressed.

"We don't know. He hardly ever fights, so we can't gauge his abilities."

"And his army? Who's in it?"

"Brigands, and whatever surviving Desians he could find." Orochi told her.

"One last thing: Where's his main base?"

"Around where the Tower of Salvation stood. He's using the captives from Palmacosta and elsewhere to dig out more Exspheres."

Sheena rose to her feet. "Thanks, Orochi."

Orochi allowed himself a grin. "You're the next chief, Sheena. Chief Igaguri would personally flay me if I didn't help you."

Sheena grinned. "Heh. Tell grandpa I said hey."

"I'll do that."

She hugged him and left. Along the way back to the inn, she rubbed the discreet identification sign--that a Mizuho ninja was in the area with information to be passed on--off the side of a house.

**Lloyd leaned out the window.** "I see her!"

"Let's hope she got something useful," Zelos said from where he was reclining.

"Hey, I trust her," Lloyd said defensively.

"Sorry. I know she's probably picked up some info, but I'm jittery over this separation thing. There's strength in numbers, right? And we know more about Joseph's schemes than the people here do. Don't they ever LEAVE the town?

"I'm wondering why she didn't let me come along." Lloyd turned to his friend.

"Probably because you're not an official member of Mizuho."

"Right, right," Lloyd sighed.

Sheena came in. "I've got some bad news."

Zelos sat up. "What?"

Sheena outlined what she'd learned from Orochi. Wisely, she held back the locations of Joseph's conquests until the end of the summary.

Characteristically, Lloyd was up and running in an instant. "Come on!"

Zelos sighed. "He just regressed."

Sheena shrugged. "Lloyd's still Lloyd." She turned and ran after him

Zelos jumped up, and ran after them while praying fervently that things were alright.


	33. The Dark Angel

Chapter 33: The Dark Angel

**Genis built the spell as quickly as he could, then growled, "Burn!"**

The ball of red mana dropped into the group of soldiers, exploding as it hit the ground. The soldiers were both thrown and roasted by the blast.

Athan straighteneed and wiped away some sweat. "I think that's all of them." He nodded at Genis and Presea. "You make a good team."

They heard a yawn. "Yes, that's most of my troops. I'll guess I'll have to kill you myself."

The three turned. Saunting down the from the Cool breeze inn was a tall, slim-framed young man. His armor was light, a breastplate, that only covered the top half of his torso, gauntlets, that allowed a full range of hand motion, and greaves, and armored coverings for a pair of boots were all exquisitely crafted and burnished to a silvery sheen. What wasn't covering by armor was covered by a black bodysuit that fit like a second skin.

Athan though him to be younger than himself, but man's eyes glowed golden; no pupils, just the whites and in their center, golden pools. Those unearthly eyes put a slight question mark over any deductions about the man's race and age.

"You'd be Damien," Genis said calmly.

"A pleasure to be known," Damien said pleasantly. He reached to his waist, taking the whip handle and shaking out whip's coils.

Genis focused on the weapon, and fought down a surge of revulsion. For a moment, he wondered if they'd missed a Devil's Arm.

The whip's handle was rigid, almost like black bone. The flexible part was smooth pink taper, narrowing from about three inches thick to an inch at its rounded end. Coming out of that end was a whitened shape, as if an organic creature had grown a natural knife made of bone.

With his free hand, Damien brushed his short blue hair out of his eyes.

The three friends set themselves. Damien, unconcerned, examined each face in turn. "You must be Genis," he said conversationally. "And you're Presea. I don't think Joseph told me your name, though," he added to Athan.

"Not giving it," Athan said.

"So hostile," Damien murmured. "Shall we start?"

Before they could react, he stabbed a finger at Presea. "Dark Sphere!"

Even as the spell surrounded Presea, the man lashed out with his whip, parrying Genis's slice at his midsection. That obscene whip came back spurting from its length, but that quickly subsided.

Athan dashed in, gathering energy for a strike at Damien's unprotected side.

Even as the monk sped it, the whip, seemingly under its own power, flipped back, blurring as its stinger slashed a line across Athan's chest, even as the Dark Sphere burst, drawing a pained grunt from Presea but also releasing her.

Genis lashed his whip again, expecting the parry this time. As soon as he felt the jolt, he brought his other hand around, throwing a trio of fireballs at the man.

Damien, caught off-guard, hissed in a breath. The whip lashed toward the rushing Presea, forcing her to hop back.

Then Athan was there, punching Damien in the shortribs, accept a cut on the shoulder from that whip as it snapped around Damien's side to dig into a shoulder. The cut across Athan's chest seemed to be on fire, but he was too focused on his enemy to worry about it.

Damien tumbled from the force of the blow, but turned it into a roll that ended with a spring. The whip cracked as he swung it down and behind him, spinning a hundred and eighty degrees as he rose.

Athan, rushing after the slim warrior, shied back from that slash. Then a stab of pain had him clutching at the cut on his chest. He gathered his energy for a moment, focusing it towards his wounds. The cuts sealed, and then Athan became aware of the burning in his veins

He figured it out when Damien swung that accursed weapon in an arc, spraying a thin line of liquid out at the other two participants in the fight.

Venom. The damn whip was _venomous!_ Athan took one glance at the reactions of Genis and presea, then he broke and ran for their packs where they'd dropped them inside the gate.

Athan broke a buckle getting a pack open, and then he dug out a tiny little bottle--a Panacea Bottle. He gulping down the contents. He slung the pack over his shoulder and fell into his inner energy. A second later, he felt the acceleration catch and he ran to the battle, which now seemed in slow motion as Presea whirled her great axe around at Damien.

Genis suddenly found an open pack at his feet, and Athan was beside him, saying, "Carry it!" Then Athan was gone and Genis shouldered the pack.

The half-elf built another spell, Air Thrust, but Damien leapt at him, whip coming around. The hit sliced Genis below the collarbone, breaking his concentration.

Then a blur rushed at the devilish warrior. Athan, using his Catquick technique, got full momentum then jumped, twisting in mid-air to catch Damien in the side with his stiffened legs.

The terrific momentum knocked Damien sprawling, though his whip managed to drag a line down Athan's leg as Damien soared away. The monk reverted to his normal speed. "Drink a panacea!" He thundered at Genis, before wrestling one out of the pack for himself.

Genis complied, then got a burst of healing from Athan.

Damien sprang up, crying, "Bloody Lance!"

Both of the men used their defensive shields--Bastion in Athan's case, Force Field in Genis's--taking the edge off the spell.

Damien heard a _crack_ behind him. He turned to see Presea hit a stone stair with the flat of her axe, pulverizing a section of it. Then she spun, bringing her axe around the catch the shards, turning the pieces of broken rock into a spray of missiles.

Damien's eyes flashed, and a green sphere of his own surrounded him, making most of the projectiles skip away so he only gained a couple of nicks.

Snarling, he cracked his whip sending a gob of venom that hit her eyes.

His whip arcing behind him was the only warning he got before Athan spin-kicked him in the ribs.

Damien recovered, and immediately hit Athan with a Dark Sphere. Then he fled up the dais.

Athan watched him ascend from the the bottom of the stairs. He took an opporunity to give himself a basic Healer, then shouted at Genis and Presea, "Follow me!" Then he ran up the stairs three at a time.

Skidding to stop beside Presea, Genis yanked out a panacea, forcing it into her hands. "Drink this," he pleaded.

Presea stopped thrashing and gulped down the contents. She opened her eyes, winced, then opened them completely. Then she did something she'd never done before. She pulled him down to her to plant a kiss on his cheek before saying, "Thanks." Then she was up and running up the stairs, Genis hot on her heels.

**Athan's mad rush up the stairs was met with a spell he'd never seen before, a bolt of black lightning**. The impact knocked into the air, but Athan caught himself on his hands, powerful arms coiling...then uncoiling like springs, tossing him onto the ground between the stairs and the dais.

Damien stood panting, his whip slowly writhing, its venom etching the stones where it dripped. "You're strong," he complimented sincerely.

Since this seemed to be a momentary break, Athan nodded civilly. "You're as tough as nails, yourself." He eyed the whip. "Where'd you get that thing?"

Damien rolled his wrist around. "In a dark place."

Athan shrugged. He hadn't expected a real answer. "I'm Athan Donu."

Damien flashed a grin and set himself into a stance.

Athan ran forward, dodging to one side as the whip lashed. He dove, scissoring his legs towards Damien's knees.

Damien went down on top of Athan, flailing, and his whip was tangled between two men.

Athan siezed the opportunity twisting Damien's wrist to force the man to let go. The monk headbutted the warrior, then grabbed the whip's handle and flung it away. He heard Genis say behind him, "Don't step it, he's winning!"

Damien, disarmed, gave a rather impressive punch to Athan's eye, his gauntlet adding to its stopping power.

Athan was more surprised than hurt, but surprise was all his spellcasting foe needed. The blast of black lightning blew him into the air, and Damien was up and running towards his still-writhing whip.

He looked up on instinct as he snatched his whip up. he saw the ball of red mana dropping, and again raised his magical defenses.

No sooner than the protection faded than several fist-sized chunks of white stone flew at him. He ducked and learned out of the way, retaliating with a Dark Sphere at the magic-using boy.

Damien saw Athan rise, face grim. He saw Presea ready another swing at one of the pillars at the corners of the dais. He saw Genis casting a spell.

Damien did the only thing he could do at that point. He fell into his own essence, ripping out his full power. The three saw Damien's handsome face twist in pain. He screamed as if in agony, dropping to his knees and clutching his head. His wings burst forth. They were _not_ as the wings of any angel they'd seen before.

Damien's wings were without shine, without substance, mere holes cut out in vision, windows to the void that underlaid the world. They were wide, much wider than he was tall.

Damien rose to his feet. His golden eyes now ruby red. His face now a gray expression of dead-eyed malice. He cracked his whip.

His onslaught came without warning. His eyes flashed the red of dying stars as the dark spell Vengeance shredded the dais around his enemies.

Then he was among them, gripping Genis by the throat to almost casually flin him at Presea. He lashed that evil whip at Athan in two quick snaps, drawing lines of blood across the man's stomach.

Presea pushed Genis off of her, and got to her feet as Athan grabbed the whip behind the sting, holding it useless despite the acidic venom it sprayed on his chest.

She took advantage of the opening and swung her heavy axe into his shoulder.

He flew through the air, the force tumbling him end over end, only for him to teleport in a crackle of that black lightning, and come out upright.

The Dark Angel spread his wings then flapped them, spreading innumerable needles of ice at his enemies.

"Presea!" Athan growled. "Launch him up high!" Athan blurred into near invisibility.

Presea had to trust the monk and she waited with her axe as Damien's whip lashed out again and again, seeming to always be right behind the swift shadow that was Athan.

Then Athan appeared again. He punched Damien in the head repeatedly, ignoring the strikes the whip made to the his side.

The Dark Angel reeled slightly. Athan grabbed his enemy's arm and flung him at Presea. "Uppercut!"

Presea's upswring carried the stunned foe high, high into the air.

"Genis!" Athan called, holding a hand to his stomach. "use Flare!"

Genis caught on, remembering the dragon-killing technique he's used the first time he'd seen Athan fight.

Genis drew upon his ragged reserves, cramming mana into the crackling white ball he formed in front of his hands. He fired at the angel's dropping body.

The sound was like thunder, the thunder that seems to split the sky.

And still the angel survived. Damien dropped heavily onto the dais, armor ruined, bodysuit in tatters.

Athan staggered to Genis. "Panacea.." he groaned.

The realization of how long Athan'd been fighting with poison in him hit him like a thrown brick. Horrified, Genis gave him a bottle.

Athan gulped down the dose, then gritted his teeth. He healed himself repeatedly, forcing his body to repair itself. Still unsteady, he paced over to Damien, who was just now starting to move and groan. Athan picked the slim man up and then threw him towards the stairs.

Athan accelerated in a flash, and caught the man in mid-air, grabbing his leg and using that handhold to slam him into the stairs.

Athan and Damien's descent was, frankly, brutal. Athan threw into the walls on either side of the stairs, bouncing him down, slinging him against a wall only to punch him, which must have felt like being between the hammer and the anvil. And the entire time, Athan used what rudimentary healing sense he had, continually montitoring the man's life force throughout the beating.

And the man still did not _die._ He'd regressed into his normal form, he was bloody and had several broken bones, but he still hung on. At the bottom, Athan threw the man down at an angle, watching an arm snap as Damien rolled, and the hated whip go flying away. The monk landed in front of Damien, reverting to normal time.

Damien's golden eyes blinked muzzily at him. He tried to raise his good hand, but Athan pointed it away and the blast of dark lightning hit nothing. Athan picked the man up and carried him to the edge of the canyon that bordered Asgard.

Athan wheeled, building momentum until Damien was whirling through the air, casting him down into the canyon at a velocity like a shooting star. Athan watched until Damien hit, then he turned away, satisfied that no one could survive splashing like that.

Athan saw Genis picking up the whip.

**Genis walked towards the weapon curiously.** It appeared similar to the Devils' Arms. Presea joined him, examining the weapon from a safe distance.

Genis picked it up, and what slammed into his mind was the overwhelming blood lust. The whip was intelligent, but all it wanted was to kill. Kill as many as possible. Genis stared at Presea, horrified at the touch of that awareness.

The thought was a demand. _Her!_

Every instinct of Genis fought against it, defeating the command to slash Presea.

Genis felt the disgust radiating out. The thought was a scream. _UNWORTHY!_

The blade on the end of it snapped around, going at Genis' unprotected throat.

And it stopped, a mere few inches from where it would have killed him. Athan's big hand held whip at the base of the sting, the venomous blade pointed away from Genis. He set his other hand a few inches below the other, squeezed, and began to twist. His face was set into an expression of deadly determination as he twisted the obscene weapon's poisonous sting off, its organic substance no match for Athan's savage strength.

He tossed the sting aside, and pulled the spurting end down, to step on it. He gripped the whip in the middle of its length, and again twisted, breaking the strands of its muscles as Genis watched wide-eyed.

"Genis?" Athan asked, almost politely.

"Wh-what?" Genis stammered out.

"Burn this thing while I pass out." He fell over.


	34. Relief

Chapter 34: Relief

**Lloyd, Sheena, and Zelos had a tense flight to Hima, each with his or her own thoughts, all conversation being impossible in the rush of the wind.**

An army, Lloyd thought. Joseph had put together an actual _army._ This was feeling like their escape from Welgaia, or that terrible journey through the Tower of Salvation when he'd thought he'd lost everyone. Admittedly, Lloyd and his friends weren't in known mortal peril, but the feeling, the feeling that the adventure wasn't fun.

Spurred by the similar depth of feeling, his thoughts drifted to Mithos. He remembered the first time he'd met Yggdrasill, when the angel had completely overpowered Lloyd, Raine, Sheena, and Genis. That had not been a good day, he remembered. His brain, lulled by the surreal sound of the wind, dug through its recollections of Mithos Yggdrasill. Shortly after Mithos' death, Sheena had asked why Lloyd had named the Great Tree after him. Lloyd's answer had been disjointed, more of a series of feelings than a concise answer, but it boiled down to: Yggdrasill saved the world. The man had kept a delicate balancing act for four thousand years, preserving the world. His tragedy had been that he'd been unable to let his sister go. Martel's life was more important to Mithos than the summative lives of all the people of both worlds.

Lloyd bit his lip. He'd just thought the word 'summative,' which he hadn't ever heard before. He'd normally be worried, but he had spent two years with the Eternal Sword and the occasional contact with its maker. "Origin?" he said aloud.

_Well guessed, Sir Lloyd,_ the soundless voice said.

"That was you just now, right?"

_My apologies._

"It's okay. But why? Or…" Lloyd felt some embarrassment, "Do you always keep an eye on me?"

_I often focus on you, but rarely so fully. _Origin paused. _I have a question for you._

"Sure?"

_Do you fully understand the power of the Eternal Sword?_

"No, Origin, I don't," Lloyd admitted with a sigh. "I can't imagine everything I can do with this sword."

_I had wondered. You have not demanded so harshly of the Eternal Sword, as Mithos did._

"I really don't want to hold another world by this one," Lloyd said wryly.

_That is not exactly my meaning. You use the sword at rare intervals, and almost always for some minor task, such as communication, when you could do more with its power._

Lloyd had to smile. "It feels like cheating." He paused, thinking. "I could use the sword, couldn't I? I could wipe out Joseph and his whole army."

_If you so desired._

Lloyd wrestled with it for a few seconds. "No. I won't. I'll give him a chance."

_You are becoming wise_, Origin said with a touch of pride. _Mithos never attempted that merely because directing the forces involved would be difficult._

"Thanks," Lloyd said, filing that bit of information. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

_Yes. Do not worry for your friends. They prevailed, and even now await you._

Lloyd felt the knot in his stomach ease a bit. "Thanks!"

There was a moment of silence. _I will leave you now._

"See you later, then."

Origin's parting comment gave Lloyd pause. _Give my greetings to Yuan._

**At Hima, people scrambled out of the way so the Rheairds could land. **Zelos hid a smile as he noticed three figures helping things along a bit, including a head of purple hair that gave one straggler a constant push.

After the Rheairds were put away, the three came towards them.

Sheena laughed as a few hugs were exchanged. "You're all okay! Tell us what happened?"

Zelos saw the somber look cross Raine's face.

"Let's talk about that," Raine said.

**Lloyd sat on a beam, looking at the ground. **His fists clenched as he looked up at Elpida. "Dammit, Elpida! You didn't need to do that!"

The small woman, sitting across the circle from him, stood up slowly. She said in a dreadful quiet voice, "Do you know what it's like, Lloyd?"

"What _what's_ like?" Lloyd asked shortly.

"To completely lose control. To be taken over." She was advancing on him, suddenly seeming taller. "I'm not always myself, Lloyd! This crystal I have stuck to my heart has some extra instructions tagged on! Our pal Yggdrasill saw to that, just ask Yuan!"

Lloyd found himself wanting to take a step backwards. "I—it does?"

"Yes!" Elpida took a breath. "And every time it kicks in, I feel like I lose a piece of myself! So, yeah, I looked for a way to stop that damned army without having to turn into the Angel of Charred Death! And I'm sorry if the only way I found makes you cringe!"

After a few moments of ringing silence, a few footsteps made people look around. The group looked up at Yuan as he sauntered towards the circle and sat down to join them. "She's right."

"Why are you here?" Lloyd demanded suspiciously.

"Yuan aided us in the battle," Raine said.

"You're doing well, Lloyd," Yuan said. "Almost completely by accident, you've caused plenty of problems for Joseph."

"What do you know?" Lloyd said sourly.

"Out of six lieutenants he sent out to secure Sylvarant, Joseph has two left." Yuan said.

Sheena leaned forward. "You killed three of them, didn't you?"

Yuan raised an eyebrow. "I did. They weren't expecting to run into another angel. How do you know that?"

Sheena shrugged. "Mizuho." And everyone present understood the implications of that sentence.

"Yuan, what is so special about Yuan's lieutenants?" Raine asked.

"They each have two Exspheres. One's a normal one, and the other is a Cruxis Crystal. He seems to came up with a way to use two of them and the end result is…effective. I think he pirated the idea from Magnius."

"Magnius?" Lloyd said with a snort. "He invented that idea?"

"Magnius was a barbarian, but he had a talent for Exsphere research. Before you killed him, he was supposed to be close to a breakthrough in harvesting and using Exspheres. As you can imagine, that worried the other Grand Cardinals."

"Whatever," Zelos said. "Joseph's found a way of turning out high-powered angels. We've beaten them before, so what?"

"Wait, wait…The angels have two Exspheres?" Elpida asked Yuan.

After his nod, she said, "Then he has only one left. That guy I took out back at Hakonesia peak had two of them."

Lloyd couldn't suppress a grin at that, his anger at Elpida passed. "Elpida, you rock."

"That leaves just the one he sent to Asgard." Sheena had been doing a quick count.

Lloyd's widened. "That's where Genis, Presea, and Athan were supposed to meet us?"

"Calm down, Lloyd. They're probably all right," Raine said soothingly.

Lloyd stood up and paced. "We need to go there," he muttered, fidgeting at the thought. On a though, he looked up, "Yuan, are you coming with us?"

"Why would I do that?"

Lloyd stopped in front of him. "Why do you still act like that? You don't have another weird plan that means you have to treat us like servants, do you?"

Yuan gave him a glare. "Very funny. I don't want to come because I don't really like you, Lloyd."

Elpida, beside him, clipped the back of his head with her hand. "Don't be like that, Yuan. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Yuan snorted, but prudently leaned out of way as her hand whistled past him.

Zelos gave a laugh. "Besides, you owe us one."

Yuan turned a glare on his former spy. "What makes you say that?"

Zelos gave a pointed look at the ring on Yuan's left hand.

Yuan followed his gaze down to his engagement ring. A momentary look of softness crossed his face, then his slightly hostile expression returned. "I owe you nothing."

"You never would have gotten that back if we hadn't given it to you," Sheena said.

Yuan threw his hands up in the air. "You're not going to let me leave, are you?"

Elpida gave him a little-girl look. "We love you, Yuan! How can we not when you scowl and act surly and make mysterious comments to all of us?" She put an around his shoulders. "Come with us? _Pleeeease?_"

Yuan's face froze for a moment, then, for the first time since Lloyd and his friends had seen him, burst out laughing. "Okay, okay." He looked around. "She still does that to people?"

Sheena nodded. "All the time."

Yuan, still grinning and shaking his head, "I'd hoped no one would ever try that on me again."

Elpida patted his back. "But wasn't it _fun?_ Now, let's go to Asgard."


	35. Of Silence and Sleeping Monks

Chapter 35: Of Silence and Sleeping Monks

**Genis crept out of the room and went across the hall.** Inside his room, Athan was stretched out on the bed, blanket pulled up to his chest, eyes closed, breathing regularly. Exactly as he'd been when they'd put him in the bed.

Genis shut the door. Really, the bandages were rudimentary, the basics of what he'd learned from Raine, but despite the half-healed scabs and wounds, Athan seemed to be stable. He'd just been sleeping hard for almost sixteen hours.

The half-elf's feet found their way to outside the inn, to the edge of the gorge. He sat down, letting his feet swing. In the predawn light, everything was quiet. Genis could use the quiet right then.

After, to him, an indefinable amount of time, he heard footsteps behind him. He knew who it was. She always had a faint scent around her, from her hair. Besides, she was the only other conscious person in the entire town.

Presea sat by him, not saying anything.

Finally, Genis said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked, perplexed.

"That…thing, yesterday…it wanted me to slash you. It was an _order_, and I had to resist. It wanted me to…to kill you."

"But you didn't." Presea said logically.

Genis shuddered at the memory of that mind. He'd woken up repeatedly with the sweats from that memory. Presea put an arm around his shoulders.

"Thanks," he muttered. "I'm still just…freaked out by that guy and that weapon."

"You did very well against him," Presea said.

"So did you. So did Athan." He looked at her, as she turned her gray eyes on him. "I'm a bit worried about him."

"I am, as well." Presea gave a rare smile. "I like him. He has an enviable attitude towards life."

Genis was taken aback. It was rare for her to express a personal opinion, which made becoming her official boyfriend a tricky and delicate business. He sighed.

She patted his shoulder. "The view around this city is incredible."

"It is," came the glum response.

"Is something wrong?" Presea asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing." The half-elf scooted back from the ledge and stood, offering her a hand. "Come on. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Mmm…how about those little breakfast pastry things you make with the apple filling? They're delicious…" Presea's smile was wide and genuine.

His mood brightened, Genis walked back to the inn.

**Athan muzzily opened his eyes. **There were cool sheets. He took that as an improvement on his usual sleeping arrangements and settled in. He raised his head to look around the empty room.

By rights, Athan thought, he should be getting up, going through some light exercises, checking what yesterday's damage was, and finding out what the kids were up to. But Athan had lived most of his life under in near proximity to Master Brodelaw, who was a morning person and didn't understand why anyone else should wake up much later than him. The big man held Views on laziness in general and sleeping late in particular, and so, after about twenty years of being up before dawn even on the weekends, Athan leaned back and closed his eyes, asleep in a moment.

**Genis happily worked in the kitchen of the Cool Breeze inn. **He decided he liked this room. Low-ceilinged but wide, it was everything a kitchen should be: efficient, attractive, functional, and—his eyes lit up—well-stocked. While looking for a mixing spoon, he found a scrap of paper, and ran his eyes down it. Sugar, flour, brown sugar, milk, eggs, onions, tomatoes…He ran his eye down to the bottom. At the bottom was a signature—it looked like J. Ettir, and below that was written, "By the order of Lord Damian."

Genis stared at the sad little piece of paper for a long while, then folded it up and pocketed it. He found the spoon and continued working thoughtfully. In fairly short order, the smell of cooking dough and filling wafted through the inn.

Presea was lured in by the smell, an almost dreamy smile on her face. Genis poured them both a glass of water from the pump, and sat on a stool after pulling out for her.

She took a drink. "I looked in on Athan. He's moved a bit."

Genis swallowed. "Good."

They sat for a while, listening to the silence and drinking their water. Genis thought, _she's beautiful. _Presea thought, _This is good water. And I love Genis's cooking…he's amazingly talented._

She held her cup out to Genis. Seemingly without thinking about it, he got up, refilled both hers and his, and sat back down.

**Later that morning, Lloyd and his friends (plus Yuan), landed in front of the town.** They noticed the recently built and even more recently broken gate. They noticed the broken stonework and the streaks and spots where the stone had been inexplicably etched. The cracked spots on the stairs led them up to the dais, where Raine went white.

One column was in danger of collapsing, so large a notch had been taken out of its side. The previously smooth surface was streaked and spotted with black char marks.

"Who did this?" she demanded of the world in general. The others drew up together, leaving her to work through her grief.

Lloyd surveyed the damage. "Looks like a hell of a fight."

Sheena looked around. "I think the fracture marks are Presea. She had to be desperate to break up pieces of the dais."

Zelos looked at her. "What about the burn marks?"

On the dais itself, Raine was past denial and well into acceptance.

"Couldn't say for certain," Sheena said. "But they look like spilled or sprayed liquid."

"Okay, acid," Elpida said. "But where are they? Where is…well, everybody?"

Lloyd turned and looked around. "I don't know." He bit his lip, suddenly worried

"But they should be in town. I mean, there are inns, baths, food, kitchens, everything they need to wait for us in comfort."

Sheena nodded, "So we should look for them. Athan's practical, and Presea would want to stay here because it's the logical place to wait, and Genis would want to stay with Presea."

On the dais, Raine's progress through the grieving process had been remarkably accelerated by the etching patterns of the streaks, and the realization that the exposed core of the column was of a different material than the exterior.

Lloyd was already walking down towards the steps.

**As it happened, Zelos went to the Cool Breeze inn. **He pushed through the door, and had the pleasure of being greeted by the smell of baked goods. He sniffed. Apple pastries. He sauntered into the kitchen, and found a plate with three or four of them. Sampling one, he discovered it was still warm. He wandered back into the lobby, and up the stairs. In the second-floor hall, He heard voices. Hurriedly finishing his pastry and licking his fingers, he moved over to a door, and listened to Genis and Presea.

"Mmm…that's so good, Genis…You're a lot better at it than I am."

Zelos raised his eyebrows.

"Thanks. You have to flip it just right."

"I know, but it never works when I do it…"

Zelos grinned.

"Can you get another? That filling was delicious."

Zelos sighed, and hurriedly padded back to the staircase, and was walking back down the hall when Genis came up.

"Hey! It's the brat!" the red-haired Chosen said cheerfully.

Genis jumped a mile! "Wh-what are you--?"

"We're looking for all of you! How was the trip? Have fun? Get to spend time alone with Miss Rose?"

Genis gave him a suspicious look. "What are you doing?"

"I'm being nosy. I'm allowed, right? Besides, you're one of my best friends! Can't I be glad to see you?" Zelos came forward as if to hug Genis.

Presea came out of the room. "Hello, Zelos."

He gave a bow. "Hello, Miss Rosebu—well, I can't call you that anymore, can I?"

"ZELOS! SHUT _UP!_"

The roar had came from a closed door. Genis immediately opened it, and the other two leaned in behind him. Athan was sitting up, glaring.

"I'm trying to sleep, loudmouth! Can you take the reunion downstairs and put a lid on it?"

None of them had ever seen Athan actually angry before. They stared.

Athan was setting a leg on the floor and beginning to stand up. "Shut that door! Don't make me get out of this bed!"

Zelos, struck by a horrific recollection of how much Athan resembled his sister in an incandescent rage, disappeared from view. He stumbled on the carpet, recovered by sheer momentum, and accelerated down, his run sped by the realization that Athan bore a frightening resemblance to Sheena in an incandescent rage, and the monk could hit much, much harder than his baby sister.

And Presea and Genis weren't far behind him, either.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Lloyd wandered Asgard without much in mind. The town seemed much different without the people in it. The swordsman felt a brewing anger at Joseph for disrupting the peace and growing prosperity Sylvarant had been enjoying.

As he came down the steps leading up to the now-ruined dais, the swordsman came face to face with Raine.

"Oh, Professor! Uh…hi!"

"What are you thinking about, Lloyd?" the half-elf asked.

Lloyd shifted his weight to one foot. "This place is so empty because of Joseph. It ticks me off."

Raine gave him a stern look. "You _should_ be thinking of plans for our attack on Joseph's base."

Lloyd looked away. "Yeah, I know. It just seems so unreal, having to do this again."

"You're too sentimental, Lloyd," a new voice said. "You should get over that soon." They both turned to see Yuan ascending the steps, his cape over one shoulder and his arms crossed. "You need a plan. Wandering around feeling sorry will not stop Joseph."

"You don't have to talk to me like that!" Lloyd flared. "I need a plan! I know! So either help me with one or shut up and let me do it!"  
Yuan gave him a smugly expectant look for three seconds. Then he said, "There. I shut up. What's your plan?"

Lloyd glared at him.

Athan sighed. It didn't feel good to lie in bed now. He was too awake.

Well, first things first. He got up, checked himself to see how much scarring he'd suffered. Hm. He hadn't be ripped up, but he did have visible slash and puncture marks on his torso and arms. He went through some stretches, checking to see if there were any pains or pulls that weren't there before. There weren't.

Then he looked in the room's mirror and noticed that a couple of days without shaving had let his thin, scraggly beard sprout out. Brodelaw would already be reaching for a razor right now. The master didn't object to facial hair, just facial hair that looked as untidy as Athan's.

Athan dug out his shaving kit, and then attended to hygiene.

Shaven and bathed, and feeling quite good, the monk went out into the daylight, to find out what trouble was brewing and how he could join in on it.

He noticed Yuan and Lloyd were standing a few feet apart and shouting at each other. Some of the others had gathered to watch. Athan sidled up to Elpida. "What's the problem?"  
"Yuan's making Lloyd think up a plan," the small woman said, sounding impressed.

Athan watched Lloyd yell, "I don't know!" The monk rubbed his chin. "Looks like Lloyd's resisting it very well."

"Lloyd is Lloyd," she said philosophically.

Athan gave her a light push on the shoulder, then watched.

"That's your plan? A frontal assault?" Yuan asked coldly.

"Yes!" Lloyd grated at him.

"And can you tell me how it will work?"

"We split up! Some of us go to free the prisoners, and the others go after Joseph!"

"Is that it? You won't use any scouting or a distraction?"

Genis turned to Sheena. "Didn't you say the Exsphere mines are being extracted from the sides of the hole left by the Giant Tree?"

The ninja nodded. "Yeah, they are."

Genis looked around at the group. "We could collapse the sides of the hole. We'd destroy the Exspheres, and it'd cause a major distraction."

Yuan nodded grudgingly. "That's not bad. But the rest of it is just as bad as making it up as you go along," he said, turning back to Lloyd.

Lloyd gritted his teeth. "What should be we be thinking of."

"The people who make up the teams. You should send one group to go free the prisoners. They will go in first and draw in most of the guards. They'll likely go through heavy fighting. Then the last group goes in to find Joseph and deal with him."

"A double distraction," Raine said, nodding. "Joseph will have minimal guards left by the time he's attacked. I can lead the team that releases the prisoners."

"I'll destroy the mines," Genis said.

"And I'll deal with Joseph," Lloyd said. He couldn't quite meet Yuan's gaze. "It's...a good plan, Yuan. Thank you for your help. Will you help us?"

"I'll help destroy the Exspheres," Yuan stated. "Joseph isn't my concern, and you should be able to easily kill him." The angel looked up at the sun. "We should strike early in the morning tomorrow."

"It'll take an hour to get there by Rheaird!" Lloyd protested. "We'll be up really early!"

"Then all of you should get sleep now," Yuan said as he began to walk away.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

**In the valley where the Tower of Salvation had once stood, Joseph came out of his luxurious tent and walked to Ansk. "Report."**

Ansk stood ramrod straight. Both his Exspheres gleamed. "Tomorrow we will have a new batch of Exspheres ready for harvesting. Furthermore, we found fifteen more Cruxis Crystals in the pit. I have drawn up a list of thirty names for you. Select the suitable candidates and Brighton will attach the crystals tomorrow and let them begin adapting."

When he as alone, Joseph smiled. If only Magnius knew that his ideas about cultivating and attaching Exspheres would be such a success. Joseph recalled being surprised that his barbaric superior was very keen on Exsphere research. The Pyroclasm turned out to have read a lot of the literature and one of Joseph's counterpart's main duties had been overseeing the experiments Magnius wanted conducted.

_Experiment_ might be too kind a word, Joseph decided. The order had usually been along the lines of, "Select ten of the vermin with different mana signatures and put an extra exsphere on each of them. Inform me of the results."

Still, he'd come up with a simpler method of exsphere cultivation—although themed with his customary brutality. He'd said fear, anger, and physical exertion. So run the vermin to just this side of death and make life miserable for them to boot.

It turned out that have a 'herd' of humans controlled by a number of guards, kept constantly running, was 20 percent more efficient than working them in the ranch. And if one took all the unnecessaries out of the equipment, like the monitoring systems and the network access, a few portable devices were all the magitechnology you needed to do it.

Joseph had later found out Pronyma had had one of her fits of paranoia and assigned _her_ to try to spy on Magnius. Joseph was grateful to Lloyd's group for slaying Kilia. He'd hated the psychotic freak experiment.

Oh, yes. Lloyd. Joseph had found it ironic that he had survived his home ranch's destruction by conducting business at the Asgard ranch, and avoided the second ranch's destruction by being on the way back to Palmacosta!

And then he'd been adrift, wandering during the crisis with the Great Tree and Derris Kharlan's appearance.

Afterward the world had been rejoined, he'd gotten the idea to implement Magnius' ideas, start small, and build up an army. All he'd needed to start with were a few Exspheres, and he'd found those easily enough. A trip to the Iselia ranch had cannibalized the necessary equipment, and then he'd been able to make his own herd.

His Cruxis Crystal twinged. He rubbed it, and reminded himself that Magnius' second so-called theory had been harder to implement. The Grand Cardinal had wondered if two Exspheres with similar mana signatures would not interfere with each other and, in fact, give further enhancement. And that'd been true, but it was tricky to match them.

Joseph walked down to the pit, and watched the extensive scaffolding crawling with slaves who were prying Exspheres out of the rock. So many of them, the sides sparkled as much and more were uncovered. He'd only noticed them because the rain had exposed some of them.

Soon, the ex-Desian thought. Soon, he'd have enough of an army to go challenge Tethe'alla, and then he'd be ruling the world. And his first order of business would be to use Tethe'allan magitech to improve the damnably slow communications here in Sylvarant. He hadn't heard back from his lieutenants in ages.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

**In the pre-dawn light on the ridge, the sentry stood watching the sky.** Lloyd was known to use Rheairds, after all.

He didn't hear Yuan's quiet footsteps coming from behind him, nor the soft crackle as the ball of electricity grew. Then a hand was clamped around his mouth, and the crackling ball pushed into his back.

Yuan held on despite the thrashing, then let the limp body drop down. He put two fingers to his mouth and gave a soft whistle.

Genis tried to sneak along after him, but stumbled. The angel had to grit his teeth and remind himself that the boy was at that clumsy stage, and telling him to be quiet wouldn't gain any immediate, and therefore useful, improvement.

When the silver-haired half-elf had caught up to Yuan, he whispered, "I'm ready."

Yuan nodded, and spread his wings again. The flight down the mountain to the deserted pit was short and uneventful, but Yuan noticed some activity in the camp, but only could see it by dint of having angelic eyesight.

They set down on the side nearest the camp, having reasoned they could destroy two sides from here, and then be across the pit by the time the guards swarmed the spot, from which Genis would collapse the third side.

Yuan set Genis down. "Hurry up," he snapped.

"I'm working, I'm working," Genis gritted as he began to put Master Crowley's spell together. The elf master of magic had been rather proud of this one. The only drawback was how carefully it had to be put together. But Genis wasn't called the Mana Master for nothing.

The ball of incandescently white mana blasted off like a cannon, taking only a second to impact on the side, and then the very rock was ripped asunder as the detonation blazed like the sun for an instant.

Yuan was stunned at the power of the magic user. He couldn't remember seeing a more destructive spell.

Chaos erupted behind them, but Genis was already constructing the second spell. After ten seconds, he had it ready and the second side, too, had an enormous crater put into it.

Yuan grabbed him and took flight as the small army came rushing out of the camp, to gawk at the devastation. They'd get a nasty surprise if they didn't move before he and Genis reached the other side, he reflected.

**The other heard the explosions, and forced themselves to wait ten minutes**. Then Raine, Athan, Presea, and Elpida got onto their Rheairds.

Lloyd, Sheena, Zelos, and Ribs saw them off.

"Will you be all right?" Zelos asked them for the tenth time.

"Yes. With my healing abilities and the other's combat, we should be able to handle ourselves," Raine said.

"We have a sixty-seven percent chance of survival," Presea said clinically.

They all looked around at her.

They stared.

She giggled. "Just kidding."

The Rheairds lifted up.

"Good luck!" Lloyd called after them.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

**Lloyd and his friends were waiting the ten minutes to give Raine time to cause more chaos.** Lloyd took to pacing back and forth, and Ribs waited quietly as only a dead man could. Sheena watched the both of them, but broke it off when Zelos sat by her. "Are you ready?" he asked. Sheena noticed his hands shook a little.

"Yeah. Are you?"

"I don't know. I really hope they're all right now."

**Raine and her group landed on the slope and hurriedly put the Rheairds away. **Elpida flew up to take a look. "I see the pens," she called as she came down. "There's a lot of them, but I think we can just open the pens and have them come up here, and we'll hold off any pursuit."

Presea unslung her axe. "Are we ready?"

A series of horrible crunching sounds announced Athan popping his knuckle. "Yes," he said with some satisfaction.

Athan led as they went down the slope, towards the corrals that had been constructed to keep the hosts in one place. Naturally, Athan was the first to spot the guards. They were professionals, and hadn't run towards the noise, but stayed back to keep an eye on the pens. Athan pulled up short, and the others caught up. After a moment of unspoken communion, they attacked.

The five guards were confronted with a man and two girls coming at them. Their confusion was not alleviated by the man having no weapons, and the pink-haired girl having a huge axe, and the purple-haired girl zipping across the ground supported by a pair of silver-white transparent wings.

To Athan's irritation, the guards did exactly what they were supposed to do. Three got ready to meet Athan, Elpida, and Presea, while the remaining two fell back and began clanging a bell loudly.

Athan was on one then, and had to duck a sword swipe. The monk went under the arm, then came up with his elbow leading, and the guard's jaws clicked together sharply.

Elpida did a cut-wheel-cut-thrust routine that her opponent manage to wiggle around, getting only a singe on his shoulder. He waded in close, trying to use his size advantage to push Elpida down.

She wasn't having any of it, though, and zipped backwards a few feet, bringing one of her burning swords around in a horizontal swipe.

He broke and wheeled around, pivoting on his back foot to swing himself out of reach of her sword. He continued the spin, swinging himself back into reach of her, right behind her left arm.

Elpida panicked for a moment and crossed her right hand under her left as he came in close.

The man blinked, and looked down at the hole burned through his breastplate, his stomach, and his spine. The sickening smell of burning meat was strong. He looked back up at her with almost pleading eyes, and she had mercy and killed him.

Presea wwas fighting a fellow axe wielder, and the massive cuts of each clanged off the other's parry. The quality of Presea's Gaia Cleaver was showing, though, as his axe chipped badly each time they made contact.

The man was good, though. He launched a crossing diagonal cut, and then made as if to complete the spin and give another swing from the same direction—but he gritted his teeth and painfully managed to twist his hips hard enough to reverse the axe's momentum in a skillful feint.

Presea was better. She'd dodged around the first cut and when the axe was again coming at her swung at it with all her might.

The hard edge of her massive axe didn't even get nicked when it broke the man's axe with a deafening crack and jolt. Presea planted her feet and continued her swing and turned it into a powerful horizontal spin. The axe edge caught the big man in the side, biting a crease into his armor, and carried him around, and around, and around.

Presea turned the spin into a jump, and arced her axe over head, smashing it—and the man hung on it—into the ground, breaking him off of her weapon.

She had no rest, though, because one of the bellringers was right behind her, swinging his sword, and the first she knew of it was it hitting her side. Presea moved with the hit, jumping up and to the side and spinning to bring her axe around in a wicked _whooshing_ cut. The guard's body shattered as the axe hit his shoulder.

Raine was coming down now, and it only took her a moment to give Presea a quick pick-me-up.

Athan and Elpida were trying to close in on the last guard. No longer ringing the bell, the man sought to get around the pair and make a run for it. Out of desperation, he threw his sword at Athan and didn't even watch the monk twist out of the way of it. Instead, he tried to go around the other side. He stumbled, recovered, and legged it away.

He didn't get far, though, before an arrow of light burned into his neck.  
Raine lifted the gate on the corral and swung it out. "Hurry! We're freeing you!"

Most started towards the gate, but one with an ugly scar on the right side of his face moved to block them. "They won't beat Brighton! It'll be better if we don't try to escape!"

Athan came up. "You don't have time for this. Those who want to come, follow me up the mountain!"

Now the prisoners were moving. The objector weighed his chances, and then he went to the back of the pen. Presea and Elpida were already opening the gates on the other pens, and a stream of hundreds of people was hustling along after the monk. Presea, Raine, and Elpida brought up the rear.

And no one noticed the scarred man staying behind.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

_Author's Note: I'll update the Exsphere Saga along about when I can write what I want to happen and have it flow right. Yes, I'm talking to you, Infinite Freedom. Everyone else, give him a big thank-you for somehow kicking my Authoring Engine into gear again._

**Lloyd and his team flew their Rheairds to the south side of the pit, landed, and put away the vehicles.** There certainly was an uproar going on. The four went toward the noise, where a lot of dust was being raised into the air.

Moving in the crowd, they didn't have much trouble blending in with Joseph's army of varied and idiosyncratic soldiers.

"Command is holding a conference!" someone was shouting. "Everyone calm down and get into order!"

On an inspiration, Zelos yelled, "Where's command? We have to report!"

The man pointed. "That way!"

"Thanks!"

While that had earned him some hard looks, Zelos was already off in the indicated direction, and the others had no choice but to follow him. They were within a stone's throw of the tents when Ribs bumped into someone—someone who recognized him. "What're you doing he—" the man began, and then his brain caught up to his mouth and he turned and saw the trademark spikey brown hair.

"LLOYD! LLOYD IRVING IS HERE!" He yelled, right as Ribs ran him through, but the cry had already been heard and the group found themselves the increasing center of violent attention.

The four had nothing for it but to fight madly for what seemed like a brutal eternity, hacking and slashing, hitting meat with every strike. It took more than a dozen deaths before the crowd gave them some respect. When it was over, Lloyd panted. "Everyone okay?"

A chorus of affirmatives came back (a clack in Ribs' case). "Good," Lloyd said. He didn't feel like it, though. A sense of frustration had started in the back of his mind. So close, but he couldn't reach Joseph! Lloyd gritted his teeth and glared towards the tent.

His anger got a release when one of the soldiers thought he could earn an instant promotion. The man darted at Lloyd, sword coming around at head height.

What happened next is best described in slow motion.

Lloyd gave both his swords a little toss, and caught them, this time with his hands turned thumbs down.

He ducked and turned under the soldier's arm, coming up behind the man's right side.

Lloyd didn't turn around to face the man, just jabbed the sword behind him at an angle, and was rewards when Flamberge's tip crunched through metal and into the man's right lung.

Still hold the sword, Lloyd took a step over so his back was maybe a foot from the man's, and mirrored the strike with the Vorpal sword.

His arms shook as he pushed the blades in further, drawing out the sound of metal in pain. Then he dragged them out. They pulled slowly, grating horribly on the steel, until they came free with a jerk and a spray of blood.

The soldier fell.

"That was a little excessive, wasn't it?" Joseph said from the crowd.

**Genis sat on a rock, well up the mountain.** "What's happening?" he asked.

"The prisoners are leaving," Yuan replied. "They're going up the mountain, but there's a group of soldiers not far behind them."

"How many are there?"

"Between fifty and a hundred," the angel said. "That's not enough to capture all of them. They'll probably be making some examples and taking the rest in," he added calmly.

"What about Lloyd?"  
"I lost track of them," Yuan said tersely. "No, wait…I see them."

Genis stood by him. "Where?"

Yuan pointed. "See that ring of people?"  
"They must be in trouble!" Genis said immediately. "Take me there!"

"Wait," Yuan said. "I'm watching for the right moment."

**Lloyd righted his grip on his swords. **"I'll kill you," he promised Joseph.

Joseph didn't take his eyes off of Lloyd. "Bars! Dexley! Jan!" he bellowed.

Three lieutenants pushed there way forward. The biggest one gave something like a salute. "Yeah, boss?"

"Take 'em out."

"Yes, boss."

The three split up and spread out around the group. Bars, the biggest, was wielding a long, wide two-handed sword. He casually slung it from his back and stood in front of Lloyd. Dexley, a slim, evil-looking man, drew a short sword and a long dagger, and came to face Sheena. And Jan, the man who had scattered Ribs so long ago, was now facing the skeleton. He didn't look happy about it.

Lloyd, Sheena, and Ribs stood facing outwards, making the points of a triangle. Zelos stood in the center among them, easily able to offer support to any of them.

Dexley gave a lazy look at the watching soldiers. "Any man who doesn't help us kill these clowns, I will personally carve my dear old granny's name and address _into his brain!_"

The massed soldiers drew their weapons with great aclarity.

The attack came. Bars waded in with his sword, as long as he was tall, flashing and slashing and swiping, and Lloyd's blades were engaged in deflecting the massive swings while trying to find a good opening. It was made harder by the steady stream of men who came in close, forcing Lloyd to dance safely away from Bars, kill in the interloper, and then go back to trying to force Bars into a mistake. The problem is, the big man had quick hands and a long reach with that blade.

Lloyd didn't mind at all. Sometimes Zelos would dart in from behind and catch a man off guard, but that wasn't constant enough for Lloyd to count on. Still, sometime Bars would make a mistake, and Lloyd would make him pay hard.

Sheena and Dexley's battle was one of agility, and both combatants were true master acrobats. Sheena got a nasty surprise and a cut on the shoulder when Dexley changed tempo, cut a handspring and a flip, then landed with his dagger already darting for her life. The ninja twisted out of the way, and accepted the scratch for the chance to hit Dexley with a Power Seal.

The man felt his strength sap and backed away. Sheena pursued him, only to be blocked by a soldier who interposed himself between them. Her hands flashed out in a swipe of her cards, just as the Last Fencer slid into the man's side in the side. "All right?" Zelos flashed a grin, then he was gone, dashing off to take out someone coming behind Lloyd. Dexley, having had a moment to regroup, came back hard, both of them giving and taking minor hits.

On the third side of the point, Ribs needed no help. The soldiers were learning that coming near Ribs was a death sentence and Jan found himself increasing facing off against the undead fencer and his darting rapier. He'd already been stabbed deeply in the bicep, and didn't have time to worry about the large amount of blood coming through, or his tingling fingers. And any soldier who dared try to help Jan would get a swift, smooth, poke in the heart or the neck or, in a couple of cases, the eye.

Joseph watched the stalemate calmly (apart from a couple of winces when Ribs took out three soldiers in a brilliant routine of slashes and stabs that left two razored throats and the other falling clutching his chest). Lloyd and his group couldn't keep this up indefinitely—they had to get tired sometime—but Joseph wasn't feeling particularly patient that day. He began building the spell, fixing a beady eye on Zelos.

The red seed of mana drifted down. Zelos felt it coming, a hot sensation in the back of his head, and looked up. He yelled, "EXPLOSION!" and dove to the side, trying to get as far from it as he could.

But not far enough. The Explosion seed hit the ground with the softness of a marshmallow and detonated with the force of a powder keg. Zelos was caught in midair by the blast and thrown like a rag doll out past Lloyd and Ribs. Lloyd and Sheena, on the edges of the blast, were staggered and forcibly pushed outwards, forcing them to catch themselves before they could attack again. Ribs, outside of it, used Jan's momentary distraction to slide the tip of his rapier through the man's breastplate and into his heart. The warrior withdrew his rapier, and fell into spellcasting, putting together a ball of dark mana with remarkable speed (he could get used to the enhancements on his sword and shield, he thought), and throwing it into the air, where it broke into a Vengeance, ripping the ground and about a dozen troops up with the fast succession of stabbing beams.

Then Ribs was running towards the mob gathering around the reeling Zelos. The only reason the ex-Chosen hadn't yet gotten seriously stabbed was that too many soldiers were jostling for position and getting in each other's way. Then Ribs was there, _Niri Vaur Laeln_ whistling left and right through armor and flesh with equal ease, and the dead man was trying tricks he'd only thought about recently, using the fact that his body was actually a collection of bones linked together by mana and force of habit to twist unnaturally so he could face in every direction and stab from any angle. His arm twisted around, slick black blade flashing as it cut a neat line through half of a man's neck, and then Ribs' torso swung around and he skewered someone through the side and both lung. He stepped in to stand over Zelos and tucked his arm around and under so his rapier passed through the empty space between his ribcage and his pelvis, the tip angling up so it went through a man's solar plexus. Ribs righted his arm, and let the dark mana that composed him run freer, giving him a boost in speed as he went into a controlled frenzy that he'd always thought of as Dancing Nightmare.

Five men died in three seconds, and six more died as the mob pulled back from Zelos, who was only now levering his way up off the ground.

But still the formation was broken. Lloyd and Sheena were being hard-pressed and Zelos was bleeding from a few places and he'd have to heal himself before he'd go back in the fray.

Ribs noticed Joseph was casting again, and began building his own spell, with a mind towards Bloody Lance. A sharp pang drew his attention upwards though, and almost every mana-sensitive person present looked up to see…

A silver-haired young man being held in the air by an angel. This, however, was only of brief interest compared to the swirling mana high above coalescing into meteors, which were getting rapidly larger.

"METEOR STORM!" Joseph shouted right before the deadly rain hit.

The carnage was extreme, as the meteors fell around Lloyd and his friends and instead drastically thinned out the mass of soldiers surrounding them. It was only maybe two dozen meteors, and was over in well under a minute, but it felt much, much longer to the troops.

Sheena saw Lloyd slice through two men near him, the swordsman using the their distraction to his advantage, and Joseph had to abandon his spell and hastily raise a shield to protect himself as a meteor fell dangerously close. She remembered herself, and hastily turned, feeling an ache between her shoulder blades as she expected Dexley to stab her right through the back.

He wasn't there.

Sheena saw him running towards Lloyd, who was pressing Bars hard now that he didn't have anyone else to worry about, and her anger went past its limit. She straightened, and formed a hand seal as she briefly considered who to summon. An appropriate one came to her, and she immediately poured the mana into making a gate for the entity.

"I summon the envoy from the dark abyss," she said in ringing tones. "Come, Shadow!"

Dexley was only seven feet from Lloyd when a pool of purplish-black formed on the ground in front of him and swiftly rose into the wide-shouldered, narrow-waisted, long armed silhouette of Shadow. Two blue-glowing eyes opened in the otherwise featureless, rounded head. He froze, wondering what the hell this thing was.

"Take him into the abyss," She ordered coldly.

The eyes glowed brighter, and the very air hissed, …_Yesss…_

Dexley realized he was in dire trouble, but the…thing…grabbed his arms with its long, three-fingered hands and then he was being dragged towards it. He made contact with the cool, moist darkness of its body, and then he was being dragged downwards into absolute blackness. The blackness burned like frostbite and blistered away his skin as he fell deeper into it. Screaming, he fell deeper into the abyss and the flesh frothed away from his bones and he felt his bones dissolve and then there was nothing but a tiny core shrieking into the uncaring void.

Forever.

Back in the material world, Joseph was stunned. In a matter of moments, the fight had turned to Lloyd and his friends having a good chance of winning. The redhead had even got up and healed himself.

Bars was still okay, now much more cautious with his attacks. The soldiers who had survived the meteor storm were rushing in on the other three. Ah, no help for it. Joseph drew his twin swords, the Seraphim Feathers, and leaned into his run as he pounded the way towards Lloyd, his Exsphere and his Cruxis crystal giving him a speed boost.

Sheena saw him coming, though, and yelled a warning to Lloyd, who spun out of Joseph's way unscathed and the leader's slash put a small cut into Bar's arm.

"Hey, watch it!" the big-bellied fighter protested.

However, they were together now, and tried to flank Lloyd. The Eternal Swordsman kept moving, keeping them both in front of him, but he, as last time, had to physically move out of the way of each attack of Joseph, forcing him to alter his style drastically and attack from positions he wouldn't have chosen otherwise, and Bars wasn't helping either.

Lloyd's battle-calm was melting away, and his sense of frustration grew and filled him. Here he was, facing his enemy, and he couldn't kill him! He was within sword's reach of his goal, knew what he had to do, but couldn't get any opportunity to do it! If he failed, the world would know the rise of Exspheres again!

In fact, Lloyd felt on fire. His adrenalin pumped, making him feel good, in fact. Stronger and faster. It was just as it had been two years ago, when he'd had to give life to the Great Seed to give the world the mana it needed. It was like last year, when he was at the last of the twenty duels against the elite of the Papal Knights to force them to give up their Exspheres and disband permanently. This upsurge felt like it could burst out of him, his Exsphere was tingling, glowing, he was surrounded by the glow…

Joseph almost fell over when Lloyd's long wings spread from his shoulders. With incredible swiftness and grace, Lloyd turned and raised a line across Bars' ample belly through the breastplate. Then the angel rounded on _him._

Lloyd delivered the jumping double-cut of Tiger Blade, stabbed out repeatedly in a Sword Rain as soon as his feet hit the ground, jumped and gave the down-cross-down cuts of Tiger Rage, and again his swords flashed out in a Sword Rain, only the last stab of this one had barely been delivered when Lloyd spun to build up force and slammed a Beast into Joseph.

None of the hits were major, but Joseph was sent sailing through the air and the world spun around his brain. He managed to kick his feet out and right himself for the landing, crouching to absorb the impact and skidding with the force. He looked up to see Lloyd, wings shining, pulling his swords out of Bars, who fell.

Joseph ran towards him, sword raised. He covered the distance quickly, and leaped into the air, right hand high to deliver a fatal cut through Lloyd's body from shoulder to hip.

Lloyd whirled and Joseph had a glance of narrowed eyes. Like Joseph was standing still, Lloyd crossed his swords and brought forth the protective sphere of Guardian. This, however, went off with a sound like a thunderclap and made an opaque white sphere that exploded outward.

Joseph's blade had been only a foot from Lloyd's shoulder when the solid shell of mana had cracked into being. He felt an instantaneous hot explosion at his wrist and then he was flying head first through the air, in a tight spiral as he soared ten…twenty…thirty feet away…

The people he passed on the way didn't at first understand what splattered them, and Zelos heard a plop by him and took a moment to look down and see a severed hand.

Sobbing, Joseph pushed himself up and gave a horrified groan at the stump of his hand. Panting and tears running out of his eyes, he dropped his sword and turned hate-filled eyes on Lloyd. His left hand fumbled at his belt, and he brought forth a small bottle Lloyd recognized as an Elixir. He bit the cork out and swallowed the contents. He felt the soothing liquid flow through him, and the agony at his wrist stopped immediately and the open stump began to close.

Lloyd rose into the air, preparing for a dive, as Joseph picked up his remaining sword. He stopped at the expression on Joseph's face, and wished for the rest of his life that he'd just continued and cut the man down right then.

Joseph's face showed a slow realization, and he looked at the nearly closed end of his arm. Then he looked at the back of his left hand, at his remaining Exsphere—his Cruxis crystal, in fact. His old Exsphere had been taken off along with his hand. The realization became a slow horror and he gave a hoarse cry as grotesquely raised veins, like a web of pipes, spread through his arm from the crystal. And then his arm bulked sickeningly, elongating as the muscles shattered his bones with a sound like a huge sheet of ice breaking, healed near-instantly, and then shattered again, and again. His skin bubbled and crawled, split to show open muscle for an instant before it closed again, and turned a dark green.

The cry of horror became a shriek of agony as a network of veins crawled all through his body.


End file.
